Patients Are Powerful

A “healthy” organ donor is, of course, ideal when it comes to organ transplants. A body damaged by accident and injury, but unaffected by, i.e., not infected by, disease has the potential to give full-life expectancy to those in need of an organ transplant. But, what about those patients who are not expected to have a “full life” even with a much-needed transplant? I am talking about people living with H.I.V. As a chiropractor, I have a number of patients who come to me for regular chiropractic care who are living with H.I.V., and some of them suffer from kidney damage, either from the virus, itself, or from the medications that extend their lives. These days, the organ-donor waiting list is long…very long. And, with the continued rise in poor health among U.S. residents, the list does not appear to be shortening in the near future. Time is a critical issue for H.I.V. positive individuals who, literally, have no time to wait!

If there is good news at all, it is this: There is a potential source of kidneys and livers that, up until now, has been off limits — organs from donors who test positive for H.I.V.. It is at present to transplant these organs even to others who already have the virus. But health experts, and even federal health officials, are calling for repeal of the provision that bans such transplants, a 23-year-old amendment to the National Organ Transplant Act. And, according to research at Johns Hopkins, approximately 500-600 H.I.V.-infected kidneys and livers could become available each year!

Time is a precious thing for all of us, but for those who are H.I.V.-positive, time is truly of the essence. A wait on a long organ-donor waiting list that shows no sign of shortening is not time these patients have to spend, especially when there are, to put it bluntly, organs that are “customized” for their individual needs and would be excluded from the needs of others. According to the director of the Office of Blood, Organ and Other Tissue Safety at the C.D.C., there is no reason why H.I.V.-positive recipients shouldn’t get transplants and that H.I.V.-positive donors can’t be used.

One day soon, a cure for AIDS and the virus that causes it may be found. If the lives of those living with H.I.V. can be extended with the gift of an organ from those power patients who understood more than anyone else what it means to live each day with the clock ticking, then it is time to take the “stigma” out of this organ transplant issue and let us give “life extension” equally to all.

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