A 12-year old boy with HIV and leukaemia died after a historic cell transplant at the University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital aimed to get the same result of three men cured of HIV and blood cancers.

Eric Blue, who is a 12-year old boy with HIV and leukaemia, underwent a historic cell transplant to potentially remedy both diseases passed away after the complications caused by the procedure. The tragedy and victory of the treatment between Eric Blue and three other men, respectively, created a new highlight for development of pre-existing dangers of the experimental method.

Why Use Bone Marrow Treatment for HIV?

In 2007, Timothy Brown who was an HIV-positive American expat living in Germany, received a unique bone marrow transplant to treat his leukaemia. His donor carries a rare genetic mutation that is highly resistant against HIV and his doctors devised an ingenious plan of tracking down a bone marrow donor with the trait. Five years after his transplant, Mr. Brown shows no sign of HIV or cancer which was later followed by two more patients.

Harvard Medical School researcher Dr. Timothy Henrich announced that he has been unable to detect HIV in two of his patients who stopped taking antiretroviral therapy for 15 and 7 weeks. It is not clear whether the HIV will return or if it is a step towards the cure against the virus.

"Both patients have been very involved in the research. They've been very interested in what we are doing. And they've been very excited to participate in the studies that are ongoing," Dr. Henrich said at the International AIDS Society conference at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Eric Blue's Tragic Complications

For other people, experimental treatment against blood cancer such as bone marrow transplant has been successful and patients remain HIV- and cancer-free. Eric Blue's tragic event revealed new development about risk of the experimental treatment method.

His initial treatment was promising, but in June 2013, he developed a severe complication when the immune cells of his donor attacked various tissues in his body.

"He was incredibly brave and courageous and understood he was participating in something historic. The promise we made to the child was that we were going to learn from this and we still are learning," said Dr. Michael Vernaris, transplant physician and Masonic Cancer Centre researcher.

His mother withheld privacy of Eric until July 5, 2013, when she finally revealed the identity of her son following his death to acknowledge her son's pioneering medical contributions.