End-of-Life HIV Research - Exploring Ethics

The Last Gift study aims to understand where and how HIV hides in the human body when a person with HIV is taking HIV medications. The Last Gift study tackles these aims by studying people with HIV who are terminally ill from a disease other than HIV, like cancer, ALS, or heart disease. The study follows these volunteers with regular blood draws before the person dies and then examines multiple tissues throughout their bodies after death. From these samples, investigators hope to understand how HIV remains hidden from both the person’s immune system and from current HIV therapy. Results from these studies are designed to help develop ways to clear these reservoirs with future therapies. Dr. Davey Smith, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UCSD discusses the study and its medical and ethical implications. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Show ID: 32991]