The world's first lung transplant on an HIV patient was performed by doctors in Italy, the director of the country's National Transplant Center in southern Palermo said on Friday. "This is an important event in the progress of transplants," said Alessandro Nanni Costa. The patient, who had terminal respiratory problems and the transplant was his only chance, was said to be in good condition post surgery. According to the Sicily-based Mediterranean Transplant Institute, only kidney, liver and pancreas transplants had previously been performed on HIV patients. Doctors credit better HIV drugs for allowing more operations to be performed. "In the last ten years, we have seen a definite improvement in the long-term survival [of HIV patients], which has allowed for some to be considered for organ transplants," said medical expert Paolo Grossi.

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