Less than three weeks after getting on an organ transplant list for HIV-positive patients, John Welch got the call. A liver was available from a deceased donor, and it was an excellent match.

On July 1, the 53-year-old Dallas man became the first recipient of an HIV-positive-to-HIV-positive organ transplant in Texas at UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital.

“The organ I got was from a young man, and I think it’s rejuvenating this old, tired bag of bones. Maybe I’ll be 25 again,” Welch says with a laugh.

A team of transplant doctors, surgeons, and infectious disease specialists completed the surgery without complications. UT Southwestern physicians have performed more than 3,000 solid organ transplants.

Visit the UT Southwestern Newsroom to read the full story.