Highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART,  the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs to control HIV infection, has enabled HIV/AIDS patients to live longer. Most patients with HIV/AIDS today die not from AIDS-associated opportunistic infections, but from end-stage organ disease including liver failure and end-stage liver disease (ESLD) resulting from chronic hepatitis C virus, or glomeruli diseases that progress to kidney end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and ultimately kidney failure. For these patients, organ transplants may be the only option to prolong their lives.

Prior to the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act, HIV patients were not considered good candidates for organ transplantation. The HOPE Act modified rules regarding organ donation between HIV-positive individuals. The law authorizes clinical research and the revision of rules about organ donation and transportation as a result of the research.

Clinical Trials Research

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Solid-Organ Transplantation in HIV-Infected Individuals (HIV InSite)