February 16, 2022 – U.S.-based woman becomes the third person in the world believed to be cured of HIV. According to The New York Times, the woman, who also had myelogenous leukemia, underwent a novel stem cell transplant method in August 2020 that used umbilical cord blood from a partially matched donor who, because of a genetic mutation, was naturally resistant to HIV.
Researchers said that the “sex and racial background of the new case mark a significant forward in developing a cure for HIV.” Dr. Steven Deeks, an AIDs expert at the University of California said, “The fact that she’s mixed race, and that she’s a woman, that is really important scientifically and really important in terms of the community impact.”
According to the report, scientists say the cord blood transplant method creates an opportunity for to cure more people of diverse racial backgrounds who have both HIV and cancer, as cord blood is more readily available than stem cells and donors do not need to match as closely.
There are only two other known cases where HIV has been cured. Both cases received bone marrow transplants from donors who carried a mutation that blocks HIV infection, and one lived without the virus for 12 years before dying of cancer.