Change rule on organs with HIV

Not so long ago the notion of transplanting HIV-infected organs was unthinkable. Not any more, if both donors and recipients are HIV-positive.

Extraordinary advances in treatment over the past 20 years have changed HIV infection from a rapid death sentence to a manageable chronic disease. Because people with HIV are living longer, other chronic conditions, such as kidney and liver failure, have emerged as problems. So the number of HIV-positive people who need transplants is growing.

But organs are always in short supply. And the National Organ Transplant Act was amended in 1988 -- at the height of the HIV scare -- to make it illegal to transplant an HIV-infected organ into anyone. Congress should relax that ban to allow organs from deceased, HIV-positive donors to be transplanted into willing recipients living with HIV.

Concerns about transmitting virulent or drug-resistant strains of HIV to recipients will need to be addressed by doctors. And strict protocols must be developed to avoid mix-ups that could result in infected organs accidentally going to people without HIV.

But researchers, led by Dr. Dorry Segev at Johns Hopkins University, estimated that about 500 HIV-infected but otherwise healthy organs could be available each year for transplantation while about 1,000 HIV-positive people need organs. For them, an infected organ could be the difference between life and death. They shouldn't be denied that shot.