Ryan White
Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990)[1] was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after failing to be readmitted to school following an AIDS diagnosis. As a hemophiliac, he became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment (Factor VIII) and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live.
Ryan White | |
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Born | Ryan Wayne White December 6, 1971 Kokomo, Indiana, U.S. |
Died | April 8, 1990 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 18)
Cause of death | Complications from AIDS |
Occupation | Student |
Parent(s) | Jeanne Elaine Hale (mother) Hubert Wayne White (father) |
Website | ryanwhite |
A lengthy administrative appeal process ensued, and news of the conflict turned Ryan into a popular celebrity and advocate for AIDS research and public education. Surprising his doctors, Ryan White lived five years longer than predicted but died in April 1990, one month before his high school graduation.
The United States Congress passed a major piece of AIDS legislation, the Ryan White CARE Act, shortly after White's death. The Act has been reauthorized twice; Ryan White Programs are the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.
References
change- ↑ "A Timeline of Key Events in Ryan's Life". Ryanwhite.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2009-12-02.