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The Senate Health Education, Labor,
and Pensions Committee approved the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act, a bill
that would lift the ban on medical research on HIV-infected organs.
Committee approval of the bill is
the first step toward changing US policy to allow organ donation between
HIV-infected people, if future research confirms the safety of such procedures.
For the HOPE Act to become a law, the full US Senate must first vote to pass
the bill. The HOPE Act has bipartisan support from sponsoring senators Tammy
Baldwin (D-Wis.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), and Rand Paul
(R-Ky.).
The bill’s sponsors stated that
passing the HOPE Act will help to remove stigma linked to HIV/AIDS and will
speed up the organ transplant process for HIV-infected people, saving both
lives and healthcare costs. The American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the
American Medical Association support passage of the HOPE Act.
According to Dr. John Fangman,
medical director of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, the HOPE Act ensures
that organ transplant policy will reflect advances in medical science rather
than outdated stereotypes.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
