CTAC calls on feds for equal access to organ transplants

Canadian Treatment Action Council
News Release

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Ottawa - The Canadian Treatment Action Council (CTAC) and other HIV & Hepatitis groups are advocating for equal access to organ transplantation for people living with HIV and with HIV & Hepatitis (co-infected). They are calling on the federal government to work with their provincial health counterparts to establish a Canadian Centre of Excellence for Solid Organ Transplantation (SOT) for people living with HIV/AIDS and those co-infected.

Despite positive result from other countries that perform SOT in the presence of HIV and co-infection, the Canadian transplant community still sees HIV/AIDS and Co-infection as grounds to withhold transplantation. Data from the US, Spain, France, England and Italy show that there is 1 to 5 year survival in HIV-positive patients who receive a liver transplant and this is similar survival to those transplanted who were HIV-negative.

Other reasons given to justify denying transplantation include:

• Surgeon reluctance
• Complexity of HIV and anti-transplant drugs
• Transplantation efficacy in these diseases
• Insufficient patient demand
Louise Binder, Co-Chair of CTAC argues that, “These are merely excuses that add to the existing stigma and discrimination that surround HIV/AIDS and co-infection. What is needed in Canada is a Center of Excellence where experts in SOT and in HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis can come together and provide the care needed”.

Colleen Price, Chair of the CTAC Co-Infection Working Group adds, “The number of HIV-positive and co-infected people in Canada is growing. As HAART keeps HIV suppressed there is an increasing need for liver and kidney transplants”.
Dr. Don Kilby, an HIV/AIDS treating physician says, “There is good data to support SOT in this disease. Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) effectively suppresses HIV.” He adds, “Pharmacological management of transplantation is not an issue when the care team is knowledgeable about anti-retroviral medication”.

Dr. Greg Robinson, a retired Toronto physician living with HIV/AIDS desperately requires a liver transplant. He says, “I have been living with HIV/AIDS for years and it is well controlled. What places my health at greatest risk is the lack of a well functioning liver”.

“Forcing Canadians to travel to the United States for organ transplantation can no longer be justified” says James Kreppner of the Canadian Hemophilia Society (CHS), a Toronto lawyer living with both HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. He adds, “Transplant surgeons should work with their Infectious Disease colleagues to become better educated about HIV/AIDS, co-infection and the benefits of transplantation”.

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