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Timothy Ray Brown, also known as “the Berlin patient”, was 54 years old.
Brown was deemed cured of his HIV infection in 2008. The previous year, Brown received a bone marrow transplant in Berlin, Germany, to treat a separate disease he had been diagnosed with: acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Brown remained HIV-free, but for the past six months he had been living with a recurrence of leukemia that had entered his spine and brain, according to the International AIDS Society (IAS).
“On behalf of all its members and the Governing Council, the IAS sends its condolences to Timothy’s partner, Tim, and his family and friends,” Adeeba Kamarulzaman, president of the International AIDS Society and professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Malaya said in the IAS announcement on Wednesday.
“We owe Timothy and his physician, Gero Hütter, great gratitude for opening the door for scientists to explore the concept that a cure for HIV is possible,” the IAS statement said.
Brown “devoted his life’s work to telling his story about his HIV cure and became an ambassador of hope,” wrote his partner.
“I am truly blessed to have shared a life together, but I am heartbroken that my hero is gone,” he said. “Tim was truly the sweetest person in the world. Tim’s spirit will live on and the love and support of my family and friends will help me through this difficult time.”
Over two years ago, Adam Castillejo, previously identified as “the London patient,” finished antiretroviral therapy for HIV, making him the second person to be cured of HIV.
Unlike Brown, Castillejo underwent only one stem cell transplant instead of two and did not receive whole-body radiation therapy as part of his treatment.
CNN’s Gina Yu and Amy Woodyatt contributed to this report.
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