Surgeons in the United States are calling for a ban on transplant organs from HIV positive donors to be lifted.
In 1988, at the height of the HIV/Aids pandemic, the National Organ Transplant Act was amended to prevent any organs from HIV positive people entering the system.
But the number of people now waiting for a transplant in the United States is over 100,000 and many on the list are HIV positive as either the virus itself, or the anti-retroviral drugs they have been prescribed, damage their internal organs.
Surgeons at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore believe allowing HIV positive patients to receive an organ from an HIV positive donor could help relieve demand, and take hundreds of people with the virus off the waiting list.
Dr Dorry Segev, Associate Professor of Surgery and Epidemiology told Sky News it is a "no-brainer", while admitting there are medical challenges.
But the number of people now waiting for a transplant in the United States is over 100,000 and many on the list are HIV positive as either the virus itself, or the anti-retroviral drugs they have been prescribed, damage their internal organs.
Surgeons at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore believe allowing HIV positive patients to receive an organ from an HIV positive donor could help relieve demand, and take hundreds of people with the virus off the waiting list.
Dr Dorry Segev, Associate Professor of Surgery and Epidemiology told Sky News it is a "no-brainer", while admitting there are medical challenges.
I would like to see (the ban) lifted yesterday. There's no sense in it anymore. I think it can be done safely and we should give it a try.
Tom Lane has HIV
Tom Lane has HIV
"If you have a strain of HIV, which we have managed to keep at bay, and then we transplant you with a donor that has a different, more aggressive strain, it could cause you to have a worse disease."
"But there are ways to minimise that risk," he argues.
He even raises the prospect of critically ill patients without HIV, accepting an organ from a HIV positive donor to stay alive, then treating the HIV as a chronic illness.
There are some concerns: that diseased organs would enter the system and could accidentally be transplanted into a patient without the virus, as well as the hazards associated with handling and transplanting infected body parts.
But supporters say there are enough safeguards in place.
Tom Lane, a retired lawyer from Washington DC, was diagnosed with HIV in 1990.He has since had two transplants: the first after the virus attacked his own kidney and the second when that organ started to fail.
"I would like to see (the ban) lifted yesterday. There's no sense in it anymore. I think it can be done safely and we should give it a try," he told Sky News.
The problem will be convincing Congress to take up the case. It would take a vote on Capitol Hill to change the bill, and the legislative agenda is already busy.
But Aids activists, like Daniel Montoya from the National Minority Aids Council, believe politicians could be persuaded to debate the measure, especially if the cost benefits are explained.
"We need to do more research to demonstrate why this organ transplantation from HIV positive person to HIV positive person would be needed," he explains.
"From a cost perspective, I think it would be helpful, especially if you're not having to deal with the costs associated with a person who has a failing kidney."
"But there are ways to minimise that risk," he argues.
He even raises the prospect of critically ill patients without HIV, accepting an organ from a HIV positive donor to stay alive, then treating the HIV as a chronic illness.
There are some concerns: that diseased organs would enter the system and could accidentally be transplanted into a patient without the virus, as well as the hazards associated with handling and transplanting infected body parts.
But supporters say there are enough safeguards in place.
Tom Lane, a retired lawyer from Washington DC, was diagnosed with HIV in 1990.He has since had two transplants: the first after the virus attacked his own kidney and the second when that organ started to fail.
"I would like to see (the ban) lifted yesterday. There's no sense in it anymore. I think it can be done safely and we should give it a try," he told Sky News.
The problem will be convincing Congress to take up the case. It would take a vote on Capitol Hill to change the bill, and the legislative agenda is already busy.
But Aids activists, like Daniel Montoya from the National Minority Aids Council, believe politicians could be persuaded to debate the measure, especially if the cost benefits are explained.
"We need to do more research to demonstrate why this organ transplantation from HIV positive person to HIV positive person would be needed," he explains.
"From a cost perspective, I think it would be helpful, especially if you're not having to deal with the costs associated with a person who has a failing kidney."
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