Doctors in Britain said on Monday that the HIV-positive man had been cleared after he received a bone marrow transplant from an HIV-resistant donor. Ravindra Gupta, who co-led a team of doctors treating the man, described his patient as “functionally cured” and “in remission,” but cautioned: “It’s too early to say he’s cured.” Medical experts hailed the announcement as confirmation that it is possible to cure HIV, a virtual death sentence before advances in treatment made it manageable. More than half a dozen U.S. activists, including those who have lived with the illness for decades, emphasized that the development would do little to help those who are currently HIV positive, because the procedure cannot be administered broadly.
