A Birmingham hospital has successfully transplanted two HIV infected organs into patients also suffering from the disease.

Liver transplants, from two separate donors, were carried out at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Edgbaston, in the pioneering procedures.

Whilst one patient donated both kidneys in surgery performed at Guy’s Hospital, in London.

All three donors were deceased.

Two patients got an HIV-infected liver each within the last five years, and two got a kidney each last year.

Giving infected organs to infected patients will mean more healthy organs becoming available, experts said – bringing fresh hope to thousands of desperate people on waiting lists.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

A spokeswoman for the QE said: “Successful organ donations from those with HIV infection are now possible thanks to the improvements in the management and treatment of HIV.

“Not all the organs of those with HIV infection can be safely used; we need to be sure that the infection that will be transmitted with the organ can be effectively treated.

“Everyone, after their death, has the option to save other people’s lives through organ donation. The fact someone has HIV or any other health condition should not stop them from registering as a donor.”

Prof John Forsythe, associate medical director for organ donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “This will help to reduce the shortage of donor organs.”

He added: “On average three people a day die in need of a transplant.

“While organ transplants from donors with HIV are limited to recipients with HIV infection, innovations like this open up the possibility of donation where it did not previously exist and will help to reduce the shortage of donor organs.”

A blood sample being held with a row of samples

Deborah Gold, of the National AIDS Trust, said it was “brilliant news for everyone on the organ waiting list”.

She added: “Hundreds died while waiting for an organ last year so the more organs available, the more lives saved – not just people with HIV.”

NHS medics transplanted HIV-infected organs from three donors into four HIV patients in what experts hailed one of Britain’s biggest medical advances in decades. The donors and patients have not been named.

Receiving HIV-infected organs meant each patient faced the risk of super-infection, in which a different strain of HIV could cause them serious harm.

Two got an HIV-infected liver each within the last five years, and two got a kidney each last year.

The kidney patients are doing well. The outcome of the liver transplants was not revealed as the NHS first confirmed the operations.

The operations ended a decades-long stretch in which the organs of HIV-infected donors were rejected for use in transplants.

Professor Forsythe said the breakthrough had been made possible by improvements in the care of HIV patients.

He added: “On average three people a day die in need of a transplant.

“While organ transplants from donors with HIV are limited to recipients with HIV infection, innovations like this open up the possibility of donation where it did not previously exist and will help to reduce the shortage of donor organs.”