California Lawmakers Rushing To Approve Transplant To HIV-Positive Patients

Californian lawmakers are rushing through an emergency legislation to allow for HIV-infected organs to be used in transplants for HIV patients. The decision was made to allow a man with HIV to reveive a part of his HIV-positive husband's liver before it is too late to perform surgery.

According to The Daily Mail, the federal government already recently authorized transplants of HIV-infected organs for patients who have the disease, but it is still illegal under California law, as well as in more than a dozen other states.

Democratic governmor Jerry Brown, said before that he would sign the bill promply as soon as the State Assembly and Senate passed it. As Brown spokeswoman Deborah Hoffman said, it is "a life-saving matter."

ABC News reported that by Friday, the bill has already been approved by legislation, and transplant surgeon Dr. Peter Stock said that he hoped to perform the operation quickly. However, he will still need time to do the tests and preparation of the patients.

Organ transplant for HIV patients have been a problem these days. At any given time, around 122,000 people in the US are waiting on organ transplants. The San Francisco Medical Center -- one of four US Hospitals authorized to transplant HIV-infected organs -- 65 HIV-positive patients are waiting their turn in an operating room.

In fact, California is among the states with the longest waits for organs, and increasing the supply could help everyone -- whether they are HIV-positive or not.

Stock said, "There are so many desperate people out there waiting for organs. The donor shortage is such a problem. Literally, we lose people every week."

The state has banned donation of HIV-positive organs, blood, and semen in the 1980s and 90s, for fear of the AIDS epidemic during the time. The law, which was reversed by the HOPE Act, prevented doctors from using these said organs, even if they were intended for patients who are HIV-positive as well.

Author of the HOPE Act bill, Senator Ben Allen from Santa Monica noted, "With this legislation, we're saving a life this month, and many more to come."