Ryan White

Ryan White was born on December 6, 1971, in Kokomo, Indiana, to Jeanne Elaine Hale and Hubert Wayne White. He was circumcised but the bleeding would not stop and the doctors diagnosed him with severe Hemophilia A, when he was just 3-days-old. It is a hereditary blood disorder, which causes even minor injuries to result in severe bleeding.

For the treatment of his disease it was necessary that he received weekly transfusions of Factor VIII, a blood product created from pooled plasma of non-hemophiliacs. It was the only kind of treatment available at the time.

In 1984, he became extremely ill and contracted pneumonia. The treatment required for a partial-lung removal surgery and immediately after the procedure he was diagnosed with HIV, a disease he contracted from the blood transfusion.

Since at the time scientist did not know too much about HIV, except for the fact that it was what caused AIDS, much of the pooled factor VIII concentrate supply in hospitals was infected and transferred the virus to the people.

White’s T-cell count dropped down to 25 and the doctors predicted that he only had another 6 months to live. But by 1985 he started feeling better and decided to return back to his school, Western Middle School.

In 1985, White’s parents sent a formal request to Western Middle School in Russiaville, Indiana, for his re-admittance to school but their application was denied by the superintendent James O. Smith.

White faced many disparities after the diagnoses of HIV; apart from not being allowed to take classes again, his town people also started treating him differently and restaurants would throw the dishes away after he had dined there.

White’s parents filed a lawsuit against the school authorities in 1985 and an Indiana Department of Education officer ruled that the school must follow the Indiana Board of Health guidelines and that White must be allowed to attend school.

Although, it was known at the time that the disease spread via blood but nobody was sure if it spread through casual contact as well. The day White returned to school, 151 out of 360 students stayed at home.

The Indiana state health commissioner, Dr. Woodrow Myers, who had worked extensively with the AIDS patients in San Francisco, informed the school board that White was no threat to other students but people kept acting out of ignorance.

This American teenager, along with actor Rock Hudson, was one of the earliest public faces of AIDS.

Many charities supporting the cause of AIDS in children were formed after White’s death. The Indiana University Dance Marathon raised approx. $5 million for the Riley Hospital for Children.

White's mother founded the national nonprofit Ryan White Foundation. The foundation worked to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS-related issues, with a focus on hemophiliacs like White, and on families caring for relatives with the disease.

Elton John created the Elton John AIDS Foundation, after getting inspired by this teenager's life.

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis opened an exhibit called ‘The Power of Children: Making a Difference’, which featured White's bedroom along with homage to Anne Frank and Ruby Bridges.