Man With HIV Gets World's First Lung From HIV+ Donor

For the first time ever, a person living with HIV has received lungs from a donor who also had the virus. The groundbreaking transplant could save countless lives in a community that's been living longer but facing new challenges.

On March 21, Bertrand Nelson, a 56-year-old New Jersey man, received a double lung and liver transplant at NYU Langone Health in New York City. After 67 days in the hospital and a brief moment when his heart stopped on the operating table, he's now home recovering with his 81-year-old mother by his side.

Nelson has lived with HIV for more than 20 years. He was also diagnosed with sarcoidosis in 2000, a disease that causes immune cells to build up in the lungs. After 20 years in remission, a severe bout of pneumonia in 2021 reactivated his condition and destroyed his lung function.

By fall 2024, Nelson needed new lungs to survive. One transplant program in Pennsylvania turned him down. But NYU Langone accepted him, and just months after joining the waiting list, he got the call that changed everything.

The surgery was possible because of the HOPE Act, passed in 2013 under President Obama. Before this law, it was actually a federal crime to transplant organs from someone with HIV. The act first allowed kidney and liver transplants between HIV-positive people, but lung transplants were still considered too experimental until now.

Why This Inspires

Nelson didn't just accept this transplant for himself. He wants to erase the stigma that still surrounds HIV and show others living with the virus that they matter. "You are worthy," he tells anyone with HIV who needs a transplant.

His message extends to potential donors too. People with HIV can now save lives through organ donation, turning what was once seen as a barrier into an opportunity to help others. With better medications keeping people with HIV healthy into old age, more are developing conditions that need transplants.

The timing couldn't be better. Organ shortages affect everyone, but this breakthrough opens up a new supply of transplantable organs. HIV-positive donors who pass away can now help multiple people living with HIV who are waiting for a second chance.

Nelson is still weak from his long hospital stay, but he's looking forward to starting physical therapy soon. His mother, who also cared for his brother after a kidney transplant in 2017, has become an expert at helping loved ones heal.

He never forgets his donor and their family, who made the choice to give him another shot at life.