You would think that after 30 million people world wide has died from this disease over the past 30 years, that this story would get publicized a bit more. Nonetheless, the story is great.
Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient", suffered from both leukemia and HIV when he received a bone marrow transplant in 2007. The transplant came from a man immune to HIV, which I didn't know was possible either, but apparently 1% of Caucasians are. What happened next is the amazing part; his HIV disappeared.
"He has no replicating virus and he isn't taking any medication. And he will now probably never have any problems with HIV," his doctor Gero Huetter told Reuters. Brown now lives in the Bay Area, and suffers from some mild neurological difficulties after the operation. "It makes me very happy," he says of the incredible cure.
His leukemia came back a year later, and he received another transplant from the same donor. The HIV has not returned.
You can read more about Mr. Brown here or watch him talk about his cure in this CBS Video Report . Hopefully this can lead to further research and eventually a cure for this horrible disease.
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