BBC World Service

According to a BBC report on 13 November 2008, "Doctors in Germany say a patient appears to have been cured of HIV by a bone marrow transplant from a donor who had a genetic resistance to the virus."

UNAIDS Chief Scientific Adviser Dr Catherine Hankins spoke to the BBC Radio’s Julian Keane on “The World Today”.

Dr Hankins discussed what can be learned from a case like this and why it may be one more piece in the puzzle to discover why it is that some people don't get infected and or some who do get infected don't progress and get sick.

This interview was first broadcast on Thursday 13 November 2008.