First HIV-positive organ transplant performed using a living donor

In what is thought to be a world first, Johns Hopkins surgeons just announced that they had transplanted a kidney from an HIV-positive living donor to an HIV-positive recipient. A 2013 law lifted a 25-year ban in the U.S. on transplants between people with HIV, but the nearly 120 kidney and liver transplants performed since the law went into effect in 2016 have used organs from deceased donors.

In the latest case, 35-year-old Nina Martinez was interested in being a donor to a friend with HIV. But her friend died before Martinez was able to complete the required health tests, and so she decided to donate to a stranger in memory of her friend. More HIV-positive living donors could help the 113,000 people in the U.S. waiting for an organ transplant, most of whom need a new kidney.