‘I wasn’t ready to die’

Paul Edmonds thought his AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence. Now, over three decades later, he’s made medical history as one of the five people worldwide to be cured of HIV.

Edmonds, 66, and his husband, Arnie House, were both HIV-positive when they were first diagnosed all those years ago. Thanks to medical advancements, the pair underwent antiretroviral treatment which made the virus intransmissible.

It wasn’t until 2018, when Edmonds was diagnosed with leukemia, that a cure for both illnesses was possible.

“I wasn’t ready to die,” he told ABC News, reflecting on his miraculous care at City of Hope Medical Center in California, where a stem cell transplant was the key to living disease-free.

After chemotherapy, Edmonds received the stem cell transplant – an often risky procedure that has the potential to weaken the immune system – from a donor with an HIV-resistant gene mutation.

“It’s a very rare mutation. It exists in roughly 1% of the population,” said Dr. Jana Dickter, Edmond’s physician at City of Hope. “It’s not something we find very commonly.”

The successful procedure made Edmonds the fifth person in the world to go into remission from HIV.

“We can’t find evidence of replicating HIV in his system,” said Dickter, who serves as an associate clinical professor of infectious diseases. “It’s been really amazing. It’s been such a journey.”

Last July, City of Hope announced Edmonds’ miraculous treatment, known then as an anonymous patient – until now.

“I was incredibly grateful. I’m grateful to be alive. I was grateful there was a donor,” he said.

His husband called the successful procedure liberating, finding it “wonderful” that Edmonds could stop taking his HIV medications.

“I was so happy for him. Because it was like a liberation for me,” House said.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates over 38 million people are living with HIV, which is incurable for the average person. However, treatment is available to suppress the virus, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, reducing the chance of transmission to HIV-negative individuals.

As researchers attempt to manufacture a vaccine, efforts have repeatedly failed. In January, HIV research faced a setback after a vaccine failed in advanced trials, which Dr. Anthony Fauci described as “disappointing.”

But Edmonds’ story could give insight into the virus as scientists continue to investigate. His treatment was not as intensive as previous procedures, resulting in only mild complications, suggesting the transplant could be applied to more patients who are aging, according to ABC News.

Like Edmonds, who was the oldest living person to be cured of the virus, there have been a handful of success stories.

Timothy Ray Brown, otherwise known as the “Berlin patient,” was the first person to enter HIV remission after receiving stem cell transplants in 2007 and 2008, effectively being cured of both the AIDS-causing virus and leukemia. He died in 2020 after battling terminal cancer at age 54.

In 2019, a German man was also cured of the virus with a stem cell transplant, but it wasn’t until this year that clinicians could confirm his virus-free status. Last year, a New York woman also entered remission from HIV and leukemia after receiving a transplant that used umbilical cord blood containing an HIV-blocking mutation.

As treatment methods advance and the search for a cure and vaccine press on, both Edmonds and House encourage regular HIV testing – if not for yourself, then to save the lives of others.

“We have to go out, get tested,” House urged, as the pair noted that ignorance to your status is what kills. “It’s so easy to be able to get put on medications. Have yourself followed by a doctor like me.”