The New York Times reported on November 14, 2008, that doctors at a Berlin hospital were able to cure a man of AIDS by injecting him with transplanted blood stem cells from a person who is resistant to the virus (the article did not mention, by the person who is resistant to the virus is probably a descendant from a surviving family from the Black Plague as they have been known to be resistant to AIDS).

But will such a treatment mean the end of AIDS? Unfortunately no.

The act of injecting someone with stem cells is still very risky with 10-30% of patients dieing as a result. The process entails destroying one’s immune system with radiation and drugs. Further, the chances of finding someone with a proper tissue match and a resistant to AIDS is extremely rare.

“It’s very nice, and it’s not even surprising, but it’s just off the table of practicality,” stated Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States.

But the fact that the man has been AIDS-free for 20 months without using any anti-retroviral drugs keeps up the hope that for the millions, particularly in Africa, that suffer from AIDS, there is a chance that a cure might be realized soon enough. Injecting genetically re-engineered stem cells might be the key.