HIV Cured?

This science behind this is actually seriously interesting. A small % of European populations are immune to HIV - it's thought that the same mutation provided some protection against the plague. If a person with HIV receives a bone marrow transplant from someone who is immune, their new blood cells are immune. This was first discovered in a man known as the "Berlin patient", who suffered from both leukaemia and HIV. The bone marrow transplant was administered to treat his cancer, and it wound up curing his HIV.

The problem is that finding a bone marrow donor is tough enough as it is, let alone someone who happens to have the correct mutation. As well as that, people with HIV tend to have a normal life expectancy with correct medication, where as bone marrow transplants have a 15-20% mortality rate. With those sorts of numbers, it's very difficult to get ethical approval for a trial.