The HOPE Act Permits Transfer Of HIV-Infected Organs

The HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act passed by the House of Representatives on Nov.12, lifts the ban on HIV-infected organ donation.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) amended in 1988 led to the ban of organ donation by HIV patients in order to prevent the deadly disease from infecting others. But four organizations namely American Society of Transplantation, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, along with the United Network for Organ Sharing requested a change in this law, according to a report.

The HOPE Act permits people diagnosed with HIV positive to donate organs to other HIV infected patients.  There is a shortage of organ donors in the U.S., there are above 120,600 people waiting for organ donors, according to the OPTN. The OPTN will frame new guidelines for the 'positive to positive' organ donations.

"While many are disheartened by the persistent partisan gridlock plaguing Washington, yesterday's bipartisan vote was a pleasant reminder that common-sense governance is still possible," Kali Lindsey, the National Minority AIDS Council's (NMAC) Director of Legislative and Public Affairs said in a statement.

"By reforming outdated policies banning all HIV-positive organ donations, Congress has provided hope not only to the thousands of people living with HIV in desperate need of a transplant, but also HIV-negative individuals who will benefit from the decrease in demand for uninfected organs," Lindsey added.

 "Any potential source of new donors should be looked at," Peter Stock, a transplant surgeon from the University of California, San Francisco told Nature.

Permitting such donations would make around 500 to 600 organs available for transplant annually. The Human Rights Campaign explained that this would help in saving lives of thousands of HIV positive people from organ failures. 

Apart from the positive impact of this Act, there is a cause of worry regarding 'superinfecting' the HIV patients with the antiretroviral drug-resistant virus carried in the organ of the infected donor, reported Nature.

It is also unclear how the antiretroviral drugs would react with the medicines given to the patients during transplant. Some researchers believe that the bodies of HIV patients will probably reject the donated organs.