Organ Transplantation in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infected Patients

The increased survival of HIV infected patients resulting from the administration of highly active anti-retroviral therapy has led to an increase in the number of patients with advanced liver or kidney disease. Until recently, such patients were excluded as transplanta-tion candidates owing to their high risk of developing AIDS; however, improvements in their immune and virological conditions have led to this situation being revisited. In recent years, HIV infected patients have been shown to be as amenable to organ transplantation as the general population. Although some questions still remain unanswered, it is no longer justified to exclude them from transplantation programmes.