I'm not Frances Borchelt, BUT on this day in 1983, I was at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco (now a Yoda statue marks the spot) receiving blood from Irwin Memorial Blood Bank (now Blood Centers of the Pacific - Irwin Center).
42 yrs. Blood recipient -> kidney donor
42 years with this retrovirus 🧁. Thanks (8 years late but better than never) screening, thanks drugs, thanks my pedsID docs, my adultID docs, my gynecologist, dermatologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, and 22 years of research docs.
Not a cake walk but there is always cake.
Thanks to the tireless advocacy of @marganina and others working on the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act (HOPE Act), people who are HIV+ can now donate organs to other HIV+ people, expanding the US organ supply. https://t.co/q3Xkx93hIl
It's 12:30am on June 26, 2025 and kidney and liver transplants from donors with HIV to recipients with HIV are now standard of clinical care in the United States. https://t.co/bNfHxYXMjC
Advocate @marganina breaks down new OPTN rules ending the “research-only” label for HIV+ organ donations, a move aimed at equity and saving lives.
https://t.co/3RZznNgfjS
Very brave of me to agree to a Monday 9am live spot the day after my bday. Here I am on @11AliveNews' streaming app program "The Take" w Chesley McNeil talking about the forthcoming OPTN policy changes coming Thursday, June 26. #HOPEtransplants#DonateLife https://t.co/bNfHxYXMjC
We were so overdue on updating y'all on our film progress. It's a minor snag in a world full of, quite frankly, major ones. Particularly bc of that, I remain a believer of keeping focused and changing the things we can.
Join us in changing the world.
https://t.co/xv0C5E05yg
On #WorldKidneyDay today, it's important to highlight that kidney transplants are safe and effective between people with HIV, utilizing living or deceased donors, thanks in part to the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act of 2013 in the United States and in larger part to decades (1/5)
Amazing news for #WorldAIDSDay from Spain 🇪🇸, expressing their desire to repeal a rule that prohibits organ transplants between people with HIV.
https://t.co/dXow1K47Xj
How much do y'all love kidneys, #NephTwitter? Like really love them? Don't you just wish they would transplant all the kidneys? I know @4_kidney does. That's why he's riding the final 545 mi AIDSLifeCycle journey from SF to LA next year to bring awareness https://t.co/ypUSIJgSOr
Consider supporting Dr. Sutha @4_kidney a two-time kidney transplant recipient as he takes on a 545-mile bike ride from SF to LA!
https://t.co/ejkeJwr5ev