BY TRENTON STRAUBE
RENEWED HOPE FOR ORGAN TRANSPLANTS People with HIV and coexisting medical conditions have a higher need of organ transplants, but the good news is that those who do receive transplants often thrive. Hospitals, however, have varying criteria for approving the procedure. New York-Presbyterian considered HIV an “absolute contraindication” for the lung surgery that Lamont Valentin, a 29-year-old born with HIV, needed as a result of childhood AIDS-related pulmonary infections. Sadly, he died December 3 on a New York City bus on the way home from a doctor’s appointment. “Lamont wasn’t evaluated as a possible lung transplant candidate,” wrote Treatment Action Group’s Tim Horn in a POZ blog, “and, as a result, died without even having the luxury of being placed onto the all-toolong waiting list for a possible match.” To ensure Lamont—who was a husband and father—didn’t die in vain, activists
Lamont Valentin, right, with his wife and son
have rallied hospitals to reconsider their approval processes for people with HIV. In other news: It is illegal in the United States for an HIV-positive person to donate an organ to another positive person. That may change now that Obama signed the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act. The new law allows such transplants for research purposes only; the hope is that newfound data will ultimately lift the ban.
World Health Organization
Stigma Index Launches in United States How would you rate the discrimination, prejudice and stigma experienced in your daily life? And how does it compare with other cities and countries? The U.S. People Living with HIV (PLHIV) Stigma Index will help quantify precisely that. Already completed in more than 50 countries, the index arrives stateside with a pilot project in Detroit this year, to be followed by a national rollout of more than 3,000 interviews. The project creates jobs and skills for people living with HIV, and it collects data that can be used for advocacy. “The research isn’t just being collected for its own sake,” says Laurel Sprague of the Global Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), which spearheaded the index with UNAIDS. “We’re always thinking about how we can use this research to make things better.”
“HIV rates and heroin use have risen significantly [in Greece], with about half of new HIV infections being self-inflicted to enable people to receive benefits of €700 per month.”
“The government has not been fair in its redistribution [of wealth], and this is leading to some people experiencing cuts in welfare benefits— and to make up the difference, Greeks are self-inflicting themselves with HIV. It’s all the fault of the Greek government. ”
SAY WHAT?
In a 234-page report on health inequality in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) mentioned in one sentence that a significant number of Greeks were purposefully contracting HIV so they could get government benefits of about $950 a month. This was erroneous, and WHO issued a correction, stating that there was no evidence e for self-infliction. Nonetheless, U.S. conservatives like Rush Limbaugh jumped at the false data as proof roof Rush R ush Limbaugh of “what the welfare state does to people” and, presumably, why such benefits should be cut. It is true, e howhow ever, that Greece is in a financial crisis and that suicides, prostitution, murder and theft have skyrocketed. Also from Greece comes the documentary Ruins: Chronicles of an HIV Witch-hunt, viewable online for free. It’s a criminalization tale of the women rounded up by police during the 2012 election season, allegedly for prostitution or drug use, and forced to undergo health checks. Those found to be HIV positive were imprisoned and charged with a felony, and their names and images were released to the media. What’s more, Greece’s health minister recently reinstated regulations that allow for forced HIV testing.
20 POZ MARCH 2014 poz.com
(VALENTIN) COURTESY OF LAN-ANH VALENTIN; (LIMBAUGH) GETTY IMAGES/MICHAEL LOCCISANO
POZ PLANET
Hot Dates / March 10: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day / March 20: