Bone Transplantation and Human Immunodeficiency Virus

The possibility of transplanting a bone allograft from a donor infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is remote, provided there is a combination of rigorous donor selection and exclusion, screening for the HIV antigen and antibody, and histopathologic studies of donor tissues. The chance of obtaining a bone allograft from an HIV-infected donor who failed to be excluded by the above techniques is calculated to be one in well over a million, using average estimates. On the other hand, if adequate precautions are not taken (for example, by testing only for antibodies to HIV), the risk might be as high as one in 161.