{"id":141572,"date":"2022-11-22T17:42:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T21:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/english-worlds-first-hiv-positive-to-hiv-positive-heart-transplant-recipient-meets-donor-family-shares-gratitude-for-life-advocates-for-organ-donation\/"},"modified":"2022-11-22T18:50:10","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T22:50:10","slug":"el-primer-receptor-de-un-trasplante-de-corazon-vih-positivo-a-vih-positivo-se-reune-con-la-familia-del-donante-expresa-su-eterna-gratitud-y-aboga-por-la-donacion-de-organos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/el-primer-receptor-de-un-trasplante-de-corazon-vih-positivo-a-vih-positivo-se-reune-con-la-familia-del-donante-expresa-su-eterna-gratitud-y-aboga-por-la-donacion-de-organos\/","title":{"rendered":"WORLD&#8217;S FIRST HIV-POSITIVE TO HIV-POSITIVE HEART TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT MEETS DONOR FAMILY, SHARES GRATITUDE FOR LIFE &amp; ADVOCATES FOR ORGAN DONATION"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><![CDATA[\n\/* Style Definitions *\/\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><i>Montefiore Specialists Share Details about the Milestone Surgery &amp; Care<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">NEW YORK<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">Nov. 22, 2022<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; <span class=\"xn-location\">Westchester<\/span> resident, 62-year-old <span class=\"xn-person\">Miriam Nieves<\/span> is especially grateful this Thanksgiving season. Earlier this year, she became the <a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3716508-1&amp;h=16781112&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.montefiore.org%2Fbody.cfm%3Fid%3D1738%26action%3Ddetail%26ref%3D2194&amp;a=first+HIV-positive+person+in+the+world\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">first HIV-positive person in the world<\/a> to receive a lifesaving heart from an HIV-positive donor. Now, seven months after her surgery at Montefiore Health System, she is meeting her donor&#8217;s family for the first time and raising awareness about the need for more people to become organ donors.<\/p>\n<div id=\"prni_dvprnejpge51dleft\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"width: 100%; text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"prnejpge51dleft\" title=\"Montefiore \" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1480041\/Montefiore_Logo.jpg\" alt=\"Montefiore \" align=\"middle\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Ms. Nieves&#8217; story is one of struggle and triumph. After overcoming drug addiction, which resulted in her contracting HIV, Ms. Nieves went on to have a successful career, three children, and six grandchildren.<\/p>\n<p>After years of recovery and effectively controlling her HIV, she experienced another health issue in 2006, when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer and needed to have one kidney removed. Nine years later, her remaining kidney started to fail, eventually requiring nightly dialysis. Her kidney function was so poor it was determined that she would need a kidney transplant. When a match became available, Ms. Nieves and her husband of 27 years, Julio, were relieved and overjoyed. However, devastatingly, when she was being assessed for the kidney transplant surgery, it was apparent that her heart function had deteriorated significantly, making it unlikely that she would survive the operation. Now Ms. Nieves would need a heart transplant too. She thought her chances were impossible.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, her team of specialists at Montefiore had the experience and determination to find a solution. In 2013, the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act enabled people who had HIV to donate their organs to a HIV-positive recipient, but a\u00a0HIV-to-HIV heart transplant had never been successfully performed. Montefiore infectious disease specialist, <span class=\"xn-person\">Vagish Hemmige<\/span>, M.D., spearheaded efforts to develop the protocol and navigate the regulatory requirements, making Montefiore one of only two centers in <span class=\"xn-location\">the United States<\/span> eligible\u00a0to perform this novel surgery, and becoming the first in the country to make the surgery happen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our experience with patients who had received other organs from HIV-positive donors convinced us that a HIV-positive heart donation could be carried out successfully,&#8221; said Dr. Hemmige, who is Ms. Nieves&#8217; HIV care provider at Montefiore and associate professor of medicine and director of Medical Student Research at <a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3716508-1&amp;h=3224390872&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.einsteinmed.edu%2F&amp;a=Albert+Einstein+College+of+Medicine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Albert Einstein College<\/span> of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In <span class=\"xn-location\">the United States<\/span>, there are between 60,000 and 100,000 people who could benefit from a new heart, however only around 3,800 transplants were performed in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sadly, many people with HIV waiting for a heart never receive one,&#8221; said Ms. Nieves&#8217; cardiologist at Montefiore, <span class=\"xn-person\">Omar Saeed<\/span>, M.D., M.S., who is also an associate professor of medicine at Einstein. &#8220;By successfully managing Ms. Nieves&#8217; care, we have shown that HIV-positive donors are a lifeline, and we encourage more people to consider sharing this lifesaving gift.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our multidisciplinary team of clinical and surgical specialists are uniquely positioned to find new, sophisticated ways to serve our patients,&#8221; said <span class=\"xn-person\">Jamil Borgi<\/span>, M.D., heart surgeon, Associate Surgical Director, Advanced Pulmonary Failure and Lung Transplantation, Montefiore.<\/p>\n<p>Once Ms. Nieves was listed for an HIV-positive heart, she was the only person on the transplant list eligible for such an organ, which meant she didn&#8217;t have to wait very long. Just a few days later, she was told there was a match.\u00a01,500 miles away in Louisiana,\u00a030-year-old\u00a0Brittany Newton tragically passed away.\u00a0Brittany was an aspiring nurse who, according to her family, had a heart of gold. In choosing to be an organ donor, and with the assistance of the <a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3716508-1&amp;h=81692009&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lopa.org%2F&amp;a=Louisiana+Organ+Procurement+Agency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency<\/a>,\u00a0Brittany became a hero, giving the gift of life to Ms. Nieves.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On <span class=\"xn-chron\">November 22<\/span>, surrounded by her medical team at Montefiore, Ms. Nieves met Brittany&#8217;s family for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am so grateful to the Newton family, and to Montefiore for taking a chance and extending my life,&#8221; said Ms. Nieves. &#8220;I hope other people see my story and start the conversation about organ donation as they gather with their families this Thanksgiving. I also hope to inspire more people to become organ donors and see that they have the power to save lives.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wcag-arialevel-3\" style=\"display: block; font-size: 1.17em; margin-block-start: 1em; margin-block-end: 1em; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;\" role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>About Montefiore Health System<br \/><\/b><\/div>\n<p>Montefiore Health System is one of <span class=\"xn-location\">New York&#8217;s<\/span> premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the <span class=\"xn-location\">Bronx<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Westchester<\/span> and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 10 hospitals, including the Children&#8217;s Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, <span class=\"xn-person\">Albert Einstein College<\/span> of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.montefiore.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">www.montefiore.org<\/a>. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.<\/p>\n<p><b>Follow us on Twitter: @MontefioreNYC \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Logo &#8211; \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3716508-1&amp;h=4186001169&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F1480041%2FMontefiore_Logo.jpg&amp;a=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F1480041%2FMontefiore_Logo.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/1480041\/Montefiore_Logo.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>SOURCE  Montefiore Health System<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><i>Montefiore Specialists Share Details about the Milestone Surgery &amp; Care<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">NEW YORK<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">Nov. 22, 2022<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; <span class=\"xn-location\">Westchester<\/span> resident, 62-year-old <span class=\"xn-person\">Miriam Nieves<\/span> is especially grateful this Thanksgiving season. Earlier this year, she became the &lt;a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salud"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141572"}],"version-history":[{"count":"1","href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141574,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141572\/revisions\/141574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}