HIV-positive mother donates liver to save her child's life

Doctors in South Africa have performed a medical first, transplanting part of the liver from a HIV-positive mother into her HIV-negative child, this was the only chance they had to save the child’s life.

 In a story done by AFP, the University of Witwatersrand doctors revealed that one year after the operation, the child may not have caught the virus from her new liver.

The child is said to have had a terminal liver disease and would have died without the transplant.

"Medication given to the child may have prevented the transmission of HIV. However, we will only know this conclusively over time," Jean Botha, chief surgeon at the university told AFP.

The doctors who performed the transplant said it is the first liver transplant from a mother living with HIV to a HIV negative child.

Doctors explained that after transplants, liver remaining in the donor is able to regenerate rapidly, they said the mother and child have fully recovered and are in good health.

According to AFP, the mother, who is being successfully treated with antiretroviral (ART) medication, had repeatedly asked to donate her liver to save her child's life, posing a major ethical debate for doctors due to the risk of HIV transmission.

"The transplant team faced the dilemma of saving the child's life whilst at the same time knowing that the child might end up HIV positive," the university added. "The actual chance of transmitting HIV was unknown."

South Africa has the world's largest HIV treatment programme with 7.1 million people living with HIV, a 18.9% adult prevalence rate.

About 3.7 million people in the country receive treatment for HIV, so the use of HIV-positive donors could help tackle the severe shortage of donors.

In 2017, 14 children waiting for liver transplants in Johannesburg died before having the operation.

June Fabian, research director at the university's medical centre said they hope that the ground-breaking operation will be the first of many like it and will contribute towards promoting justice and equity in liver transplantation.