53-year-old 'Duesseldorf patient' cured of HIV, leukaemia after stem cell transplant

The man underwent a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from a woman donor with a rare mutation in her CCR5 gene. The mutation was found to stop HIV from entering cells. The patient then stopped antiretroviral therapy for HIV in 2018 and four years later, after consistent testing, no trace of HIV was found in his body.

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After over a decade of the transplant and four years of ending his HIV therapy, the man is in good health. He said that he celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his transplant "in a big way" on Valentine's Day and the donor was the "guest of honour" during the celebrations.

The study said that "this third case of HIV-1 cure" provides "valuable insights that will hopefully guide future cure strategies".

A stem cell transplant destroys any unhealthy blood cells and replaces them with healthy ones removed from blood or bone marrow. However, due to the procedure’s high risk, they are only carried out within the framework of treating other life-threatening conditions.

The team, led by medics at Dusseldorf University Hospital, hope the insights they have gained from the case will help more studies in finding the cure for HIV.

Experts suggested that research should now be continued to help HIV patients overcome infections without the need of strenuous intervention in the future.