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\n\t\tA patient in Norway has been cured of HIV by a stem cell transplant from his elder brother (Picture: Shutterstock \/Spectral-Design)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tA patient in Norway has been cured of HIV by a stem cell transplant from his elder brother (Picture: Shutterstock \/Spectral-Design)<\/p>\n
An HIV patient has said it feels like \u2018winning the lottery twice\u2019 after being virtually cured of the disease with the help of his brother.<\/p>\n
The 64-year-old, known as the \u2018Oslo<\/a> patient\u2019, has been in remission for five years after receiving a stem cell transplant.<\/p>\n His brother, the donor, was found to be resistant to the virus, which if untreated can be deadly.<\/p>\n While treatments can keep HIV at bay, the virus remains extremely difficult to permanently cure as it can remain hidden in cells.<\/p>\n The Oslo patient was originally diagnosed with HIV in 2006, when he was aged 44.<\/p>\n He was then found to have myelodysplastic syndrome, a fatal cancer<\/a> of the blood, in 2017.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n But, in a miraculous turn of events, doctors struck gold when they turned to the patient\u2019s older brother, was found to carry the exact gene, known as CCR5, which blocks HIV from entering the system.<\/p>\n The resistant mutation is carried only by around one in a hundred people in Europe.<\/p>\n Even if one does find a donor with the correct variant, the stem cell transplant is only suitable for patients with both HIV and blood cancer.<\/p>\n \t\t Just two years after the procedure, the man stopped taking anti-retroviral drugs, which had until then helped keep his symptoms at bay.<\/p>\n However samples of his blood, bone marrow and gut were found to have no trace of the virus.<\/p>\n Anders Eivind Myhre from the Oslo University Hospital said doctors were quite certain the Norwegian patient had been cured \u2018for all practical purposes\u2019.<\/p>\n The patient had said the discovery was like \u2018winning the lottery twice\u2019, he told AFP.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tWhat are stem cell transplants?\t\t\t<\/p>\n Stem cell transplants are used to treat damaged bone marrow which can no longer produce healthy blood cells.<\/p>\n They can treat life-threatening conditions including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.<\/p>\n The procedure carries significant risk and relies on stem cells from a donor which must carry a certain genetic marker, known as a \u00a0human leukocyte antigen, which is identical or similar to that of the person receiving the transplant.<\/p>\n Around 10 people have been successfully cured of HIV using a stem cell transplant \u2013 all of whom also had blood cancers.<\/p>\n Source: NHS<\/p>\n He added that the patient was now well and has \u2018more energy than he knows what to do with\u2019.<\/p>\n It\u2019s believed to be the first time a HIV patient has received a stem cell donation from a family member.<\/p>\n More than 3,000 Britons were diagnosed with HIV in 2024, with the disease having claimed the lives of 643 people in the UK the same year.<\/p>\n The first person to be officially cleared of HIV was Timothy Ray Brown who was declared cured back in 2008.<\/p>\n He became known as the \u2018Berlin<\/a> patient\u2019 after the city where he was treated for leukaemia. <\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_293617224-671a.jpg\")
\n\t\tTimothy Ray Brown, known originally as the \u2018Berlin patient\u2019, was the first person to be cured of HIV and cancer with a stem cell transplant in 2008 (Picture: AP)<\/p>\n
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