A 63-year-old man in Norway has entered long-term remission from HIV after receiving a bone marrow transplant from his brother.
Doctors say this is the first time such a result has been achieved using a sibling donor. The case is now being studied globally for what it reveals about eliminating HIV from the body.
The man, known as the “Oslo patient,” had been living with HIV since 2006. In 2017, he was diagnosed with a serious blood cancer called myelodysplastic syndrome, which required a bone marrow transplant. His doctors began searching for a donor who could help treat both conditions at the same time.
When no ideal match was found, the medical team decided to use his older brother as the donor. On the day of the transplant in 2020, doctors discovered something unexpected about the brother. He carried a rare genetic mutation known as CCR5Δ32, which blocks HIV from entering immune cells.
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“We had no idea… That was amazing,” said Dr. Anders Eivind Myhre, who led the study. This mutation prevents the formation of the CCR5 receptor on T cells, which HIV commonly uses to infect the body. People with two copies of this mutation are highly resistant to HIV-1, the most common form of the virus.
During the transplant, the patient’s diseased bone marrow was replaced with healthy donor cells from his brother. Over time, these donor cells took over and rebuilt his immune system. The new immune cells carried two copies of the CCR5Δ32 mutation, making them resistant to HIV infection.
A study published in Nature Microbiology explained how this process led to a major shift in the patient’s body. His T cell levels improved significantly within a year after the transplant. These levels remained stable even after he stopped taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) two years later.
ART is the standard treatment for HIV and works by preventing the virus from multiplying. However, it cannot remove HIV completely because the virus hides in dormant reservoirs in the body. If ART is stopped, the virus usually begins to spread again.
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In this case, that did not happen. Researchers tested the patient’s blood, bone marrow, and gut tissue, which are known places where HIV can persist. They found no detectable traces of the virus in any of these areas.
“I think we have shown complete engraftment in the body,” said infectious disease specialist Marius Trøseid. He explained that donor cells had fully replaced the patient’s immune system, including in critical tissues like the gut. This is important because incomplete replacement could allow the virus to return later.
“For all practical purposes, we are quite certain that he is cured,” Myhre said. The patient described his experience as “like winning the lottery twice,” referring to surviving cancer and then losing HIV. Doctors say he is now healthy, energetic, and living a normal life.
Globally, only around 10 people have achieved long-term HIV remission after similar bone marrow transplants. These cases include patients in Berlin, London, New York, Düsseldorf, and Geneva. The first such case was Timothy Ray Brown, known as the Berlin patient, who was declared cured in 2008.
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Most of these patients underwent transplants to treat life-threatening cancers, not HIV itself. The disappearance of HIV was a secondary outcome of the treatment. In 2024, another case showed remission even without two copies of the CCR5 mutation, raising new questions for researchers.
Despite these successes, bone marrow transplants are not a practical solution for most people living with HIV. The procedure is complex, expensive, and carries serious risks, including life-threatening complications. It is only used when absolutely necessary, such as in cancer treatment.
Another major challenge is the rarity of the CCR5Δ32 mutation. Only about one percent of people in Northern Europe carry two copies of this gene variant. In this case, the donor being the patient’s own brother makes the outcome even more unique.
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Researchers believe such rare cases provide valuable insights into how HIV can be eliminated from the body. By studying how the virus disappeared from blood, bone marrow, and gut tissue, scientists hope to develop safer treatments. These may include gene-editing approaches that mimic the effects of the CCR5 mutation.
For now, the Oslo patient’s case stands as a remarkable example of science, chance, and timing coming together. It shows that under specific conditions, HIV can be pushed out of the body completely. As Trøseid noted, the man may no longer even be considered a patient anymore.
