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South African doctors grafted part of the liver of an HIV-positive mother on her dying child – who was not infected with HIV – as part of an ultimate effort to save the baby. ;child.
The doctors decided that it was worth exposing the child to HIV.
"The transplant team was faced with the dilemma of saving the child's life knowing that this child could become HIV positive because of this decision," University of the Witwatersrand experts said in the review. AIDS, said, according to the Associated Press.
The mother and the child both recovered from the transplant in 2017, but still do not know if the child has contracted HIV, the transplant team at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Center said. Johannesburg. They gave the child medication to prevent the transfer of HIV before the transplant, but it will take time to see if it worked.
In the absence of non-HIV-infected livers available for donation, the mother asked her doctor if she could donate some of her as a live transplant. She was taking antiretroviral drugs to target her HIV, but they said that there was a significant risk to the child.
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After the transplant, they thought that the child may have contracted HIV, "because we detected HIV antibodies," said surgeon-surgeon Jean Botha. But other tests have been negative.
If the child actually develops HIV, he could "lead a relatively normal life" through improved medication, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the US National Institutes of Health told Associated Press. and HIV expert. The child would only need one pill a day to protect himself, he said.
"If it's a choice between death and a reasonably good life with a treatable infection, I think they made a perfectly reasonable choice," said Fauci, adding that this was not true for all patients. "Everything must be done on a case by case basis."
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