Taiwan Reports First Case of HIV Infection Through Hip Replacement

On Jan. 12, health authorities in Taiwan urged hospitals to be cautious about performing bone transplants after a local patient became infected with HIV after a hip replacement. "Currently there is no way to detect HIV in donated bones, so hospitals must evaluate the risk before carrying out the bone transplants," Ou Nai-ming, head of the Department of Health's AIDS Prevention Committee, told a seminar in Taipei on hip replacements. Chen Tien-hsiung, chief of the osteopathy department of the Tri Service General Hospital, reported Taiwan's first case of HIV infection through bone transplantation. "The patient never had unprotected sex, but a few months after he received a hip replacement, [a] blood test showed he had contracted HIV," Chen said. "This is possible because the bone could have been donated during the window period during which HIV cannot be detected. So how to detect HIV in donated bone has become a big headache for us," Chen said. He suggested that hospitals keep donated bones in bone banks for at least half a year before using them for transplants.

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