Since Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was first diagnosed, it has created quite a name for itself. To date, HIV and its partner in crime AIDS – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, has killed millions and in many countries, it is referred to as one of the top killers targeting the 15-25 age group. For many years, hearing that you are HIV positive has caused tremendous grief to families worldwide and has been a death sentence to many. Whether it be through unprotected/reckless sex, errors in blood transfusions, sharing of needles or a new born being infected by his/her mother, the results are the same; HIV is a killer disease that spares no one.

Science has done its best searching for clues on how to beat this disease. Various anti-retroviral drugs have allowed people to manage the disease and lead relatively normal healthy lives. These drugs may be costly, but it spares sufferers the immense pain and heartache brought along by the disease. While these retro-virals served their purpose, they were no cure. They required patients to follow a strict regimen of popping pills daily knowing their life and health depended on it.

Future patients can now, however, look to the future with hope. In an article taken from http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/12/man-officially-cured-of-hiv/ retrieved on December 15, 2010 by Brian Barret entitled Man Officially Cured of HIV, a 42 year old man by the name of Timothy Ray Brown, has carved his name in history as the first and only man to be cured of HIV AIDS. Ironically enough, it was not the AIDS virus that most concerned Mr. Brown when he went to Germany's Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin hospital. He went for treatment regarding an equally life threatening condition, cancer. The article over-viewed the extensive procedures Mr. Brown had to go through. First chemotherapy that wiped out most of his immune system followed by Total Body Irradiation and finally a deadly stem cell transplant that approximately 1 in 3 patients do not survive. None the less, three years after his horrendous procedures, Mr. Brown, having taken no anti-retroviral drugs, showed no signs of the virus. He was cured.

The stem cell donor the Doctors used played a role in his miraculous treatment. It was noted in the article that the donor had a rare genetic mutation that made him almost immune to the HIV virus. Thus, as Mr. Brown's immune system was wiped clean by his therapy, the healthy HIV-resistant cells from his donor repopulated his body and well, the results speaks for themselves. While HIV patients might not willingly wish to go through such a risky procedure, it opens the door of opportunity and hope by placing a simple statement, placing a simple yet powerful fact into the pages of history. HIV can be cured. Mr. Brown is a living breathing reminder of this hope. As Doctors and scientists work to develop a less risky form of treatment, HIV victims around the world can look to the future with even more hope, that one day, they will not only be able to manage the disease, but they can be free of it.