AIDS patient Jeff Getty made a bid for medical history Thursday night as an elixir of purified baboon bone marrow flowed into his arm - a gamble his doctors say could kill him or might provide a replacement for his rapidly failing immune system.
In the works for more than two years, the last-ditch effort at a cross-species transplant to save Getty's life was delayed by safety reviews and his episodes of AIDS-related illness.It is only the second attempt at such a marrow transplant. An effort at the University of Pittsburgh, with whole baboon bone marrow to treat AIDS, failed in 1993. Now, doctors say the use of a specially processed portion of bone marrow helps the odds.
Infusion of the deep red baboon cell extract at San Francisco General Hospital took about a half hour and resembled a routine blood transfusion.
The treatment may not extend Getty's life and could be dangerous or even fatal if it provokes severe allergic reactions or infects him with a baboon virus. Whatever happens, doctors say it may teach them new ways to attack AIDS.
Getty, 38, will recuperate for weeks in semi-isolation to reduce risk of infection. A nautical history buff, he has decorated the room with a banner reading, "Don't Give Up the Ship."