The Lasting Impact of Ryan White
On January 16, 2019, it will have been 30 years since the airing of "The Ryan White Story" on television. Ryan White grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. At a young age he was diagnosed with severe hemophilia A, a hereditary blood coagulation disorder which made even small injuries result in severe bleeding.[1] At the time, common treatment for hemophiliacs was weekly infusions of factor VIII, a blood product created from pooled plasma of non-hemophiliacs.[2] In December of 1984, Ryan was treated for pneumonia and subsequently diagnosed with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) at age 13. He was one of the first children with hemophilia to be diagnosed with AIDS as a result of a tainted factor VIII infusion.[3] Ryan was told he had six months to live. At the time, the…