LOPA FIRST IN THE WORLD TO RECOVER AN HIV+ HEART FOR TRANSPLANT

The Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) is the first OPO (Organ Procurement Organization) in the world to recover an HIV+ heart for transplant. The heart was recovered from a Louisiana donor hero - a patient who no longer had any neurological responses - and placed on a pump for transport to Montefiore Medical Center in New York.

The groundbreaking transplant was announced November 22 at Montefiore Medical Center. LOPA’s Chief Clinical Officer, Joey Boudreaux joined Montefiore’s transplant team to discuss the recovery and transplantation process involved in this complex case. 

Following the press conference, transplant recipient Miriam Nieves, a 62-year-old from Westchester, NY, met the family of her donor hero Brittany Newton. Brittany’s mother and two sisters were able to hear Brittany’s heart beating in Nieves’ chest. 

“It came at the right time,” said Brittany’s mother of the chance to meet Nieves and her family. “I hate the way it came, but it came at the right time. My child is still walking around, and for that I will forever be grateful. Believe that.”

This milestone comes almost a decade after the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act enabled people living with HIV to donate their organs to those on the transplant waiting list living with HIV. According to Dr. Jonathan Hand, LOPA Assistant Medical Director and Medical Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and the Transplant Infectious Diseases Program at Ochsner Medical Center, “People living with HIV have been saving lives through liver and kidney donation since 2016 under HOPE Act protocols. Now, thanks to the donor and their family, as well as the transplant center and recipient, the donor pool has been expanded for all patients, with and without HIV, waiting for a lifesaving heart transplant. Hopefully, this important milestone will be the first of many as experience grows.”

Boudreaux credited the LOPA coordinators and staff for handling the logistical challenges associated with the distance between Louisiana and New York. “The care teams at both LOPA and Montefiore worked together to give the first second-chance in the world to a heart patient living with HIV.”