Did you know that KGMU has an Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre that has been assisting AIDS patients in finding suitable matches and normalising the stigma around it? Yes, you read that right, Lucknow's preeminent King George's Medical University (KGMU) doesn't just provide treatment to AIDS patients but also renders therapy in a bid to make their lives better.

On World AIDS Day, a counsellor at the ART centre Dr Bhaskar Pandey has dispensed valuable inputs on the Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), while busting myths and ignominy around the same.

AIDS is a life-threating and chronic disease, caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), that affects and damages the immune system. The International AIDS Day is observed to raise awareness about the disease.

Dr Pandey explains how the centre works, saying, "At the ART centre, we tell HIV-positive unmarried men and women about other patients, who can be their prospective counterparts. If they show interest, we help in counselling and matchmaking. So far, we have solemnised 67 such marriages in the past seven years."

He further throws light on the fact that medication and precaution can help an HIV-affected woman produce a healthy baby in most of the cases. Patients at KGMU are educated about the precautions they need to take while conceiving and during the duration of pregnancy. Even though AIDS can pass from an HIV+ mother to the child, medical treatment of both can reduce the chances of contraction.

"Over 30 couples who met each other at the ART centre, have now become parents," he notes.

He also mentioned a recent case of a young couple who became parents to a healthy child with the centre's help. They had met with the help of the ART centre a couple years ago, got married, and became parents.