AIDS activist who had baboon marrow transplant dies

Jeff Getty, an AIDS activist who received the first bone marrow transplant from a baboon to try to fight the disease, has died at the age of 49.

Getty died Oct. 9 in Joshua Tree, Calif., of heart failure following treatment for cancer, said Ken Klueh, his partner of 26 years.

In 1995, Getty received the bone marrow transplant in an attempt to repair damage to his immune system, which was weakened by AIDS before antiviral drug combinations became available.

The transplanted cells, taken from a baboon, were unsuccessful. The procedure added to controversy over the risks of rejection from cross-species transplants.

"That trial reflects the level of desperation at the time," said Dr. Steven Deeks, the University of California, San Francisco, professor who was the experiment's lead investigator. "Jeff was just hanging on to his life. He inspired us that a risky and aggressive intervention was worth trying."

Getty campaigned to expand the availability of AIDS drugs and research for experimental treatments.