Reply #17: To head one of the inevitable conjectures off at the pass:

[frustrated_lefty]

Because there is a limit to the number of bone marrow matches with naturally HIV-resistant donors, the logical theory is that we can genetically engineer autologous stem cells so that they incorporate the necessary mutation. Basically, this means taking stem cells from the patient, engineering them, and then re-implanting the engineered cells. It's a way to get around the need for a bone marrow match.

Studies of that sort have been underway for years. One of the fundamental problems is that the technology currently used to "engineer" stem cells also has an extremely high (~50%) chance of making them cancerous. We're still a few steps away from something that can be broadly applicable.