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The US House of Representatives’
Energy and Commerce Committee has approved H.R. 698, the HIV Organ Policy
Equity (HOPE) Act, which—if approved by the full House—would lift a ban on
HIV-infected organ donation to HIV-infected recipients. Rep. Lois Capps
(D-Calif.) sponsored the bill, which the US Senate passed in June.
If the HOPE Act becomes law, the US
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Organ Procurement
Transplant Network (OPTN) would develop and implement research standards for
HIV-infected organ transplants. If research established that
positive-to-positive transplantation did not endanger the safety of the organ
transplantation network, the HHS Secretary would be able to permit the
transplants. The bill also would require the Secretary to direct OPTN to
develop positive-to-positive transplantation standards that would sustain the
organ transplant network’s safety.
Implementation of the HOPE Act could
shorten transplantation wait times for both HIV-infected and uninfected people.
More than 100,000 US residents currently are waiting for transplants; each year
50,000 more applicants join the waiting list. Positive-to-positive transplantation
could save approximately 1,000 HIV-infected people waiting for liver and kidney
transplants each year.
In 2011, CDC recommended research on
positive-to-positive transplantation. The bill also has the support of the
United Network for Organ Sharing and more than 40 other patient and medical
advocacy organizations.
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!
