BOSTON — An HIV-infected woman who raised money for a new liver for herself after her insurance company refused to pay for the procedure died Tuesday following two unsuccessful transplants.
Belynda Dunn, a 51-year-old AIDS activist, died at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Dunn underwent a transplant procedure March 5, but the liver did not function and was removed, hospital spokeswoman Lisa Rossi said. She received another transplant on Friday. That liver also did not function properly, and led to a multi-system organ failure.
Dunn never regained consciousness from either transplant, Rossi said.
Her case stirred debate over the wisdom of giving an organ transplant to someone with HIV — a procedure that has become more common in recent years with medical advances against the AIDS virus.
Dunn suffered from liver damage caused by Hepatitis C, but her health maintenance organization, Neighborhood Health Plan, refused to cover it on grounds that the procedure is experimental for those who have the AIDS virus.
She campaigned to convince insurers that HIV does not make liver transplants any riskier.
Dunn had to raise money for her procedure, which normally costs about $208,000. Mayor Tom Menino stepped forward to lead the campaign, which netted about $275,000, including $100,000 from Neighborhood Health Plan.
"I am very saddened to hear of the passing of Belynda," the mayor said. "She fought a valiant battle not only for her own life but for countless others with HIV and Hepatitis C."
Neighborhood Health Plan had no immediate comment.
Dunn said she contracted Hepatitis C 30 years ago when she received a blood transfusion while giving birth. She said she contracted HIV through sex in 1991.
She founded AIDS Action's Who Touched Me Ministry, which provides HIV education and prevention through black churches in Boston.
Five years ago, doctors and insurers routinely rejected AIDS patients for transplants, in part because of their lower life expectancies. Since transplant recipients must take drugs to suppress the immune system and prevent it from rejecting the new organ, doctors assumed the medication would worsen problems in HIV patients.
But in the past few years, as new drugs have saved the lives of HIV patients, doctors are beginning to perform more transplants. In 1999, five transplants were reported to the United Network for Organ Sharing. In 2000, there were 11.
However, some doctors and insurance companies still do not support transplants for HIV patients.