Scientists believe they have cured a New York woman of H.I.V. using a cutting-edge stem cell transplant method involving umbilical cord blood, according to The New York Times.

The unidentified patient is the first woman and the first mixed-race individual to be cured of the virus, an indication that the new treatment can succeed where others have failed. The medical community is particularly excited about the development, reports the Times, because cord blood is more widely available than “the adult stem cells typically used in bone marrow transplants, and does not need to be matched as closely to the recipient.”

A woman appears to be cured of HIV after a stem-cell transplant from umbilical-cord blood, providing researchers with a road map to beat one of nature’s most resilient viruses https://t.co/vjAOG05Gpu

— WSJ Health (@WSJhealth) February 15, 2022

However, the woman only received the treatment – which is considered very risky – because she also had leukemia.

“It is unethical, experts stress, to attempt an HIV cure through a stem cell transplant — a toxic, sometimes fatal procedure — in anyone who does not have a potentially fatal cancer or other condition that already makes them a candidate for such risky treatment,” reports NBC News.

Dr. Deborah Persaud, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who was involved in the treatment, told the outlet “while we’re very excited,” the new technique is “still not a feasible strategy for all but a handful of the millions of people living with HIV.”

Stunning.

The treatment requires a bone marrow transplant, which is risky. So it is only for people with HIV and BMT-treatable cancer in settings with the capabilities. But it is another step that indicates a broader HIV cure is possible. https://t.co/wVy0dWvjvk

— Atul Gawande (@Atul_Gawande) February 15, 2022

The Times adds:

It’s unclear exactly why stem cells from cord blood seem to work so well, experts said. One possibility is that they are more capable of adapting to a new environment, said Dr. Koen Van Besien, director of the transplant service at Weill Cornell. “These are newborns, they are more adaptable,” he said.

Cord blood may also contain elements beyond the stem cells that aid in the transplant.

“Umbilical stem cells are attractive,” Dr. Deeks said. “There’s something magical about these cells and something magical perhaps about the cord blood in general that provides an extra benefit.”

The Times provides context:

There have only been two known cases of an H.I.V. cure so far. Referred to as “The Berlin Patient,” Timothy Ray Brown stayed virus-free for 12 years, until he died in 2020 of cancer. In 2019, another patient, later identified as Adam Castillejo, was reported to be cured of H.I.V., confirming that Mr. Brown’s case was not a fluke.

Unlike the two patients who were previously cured, the New York woman did not experience punishing side effects.