Ryan White

    During the 1980s the HIV/Aids epidemic hit the United States with full force. However it was more than just a serious disease, it turned into a new form of discrimination. People diagnosed not only battled against the disease, but an entire nation scared and spiteful of them. This stigma gained traction, due to the nature of HIV being a sexually transmitted disease. Although sex had become less of a stigma throughout the US it still was a touchy subject to a morally conservative nation. However, In 1984, at only 13 years old, teenage Ryan White was diagnosed with HIV. While he was heavily discriminated against, being only 13 at his diagnosis, his short 19 year life was a life of revolution and progression for HIV Victims.

    Before ever running into HIV, Ryan White was a diagnosed hemophiliac. This is an independent disease, which is presence due to a lack of blood clotting proteins. Due to this hemophiliacs lose much more blood than the average human. Due to this, Ryan White would need blood transfusions in certain situations. With lesser technology and less cautionary screening in the early 80s, the blood given to Ryan White was unknowingly filled with the HIV causing virus. He was the first of his age who publicly dealt with aids.
    HIV was thought to spread due to gay relationships rather than the spread of certain bodily fluids. This naturally caused fear in a deeply homophobic United States. As a result he was kicked out of his middle school and was outcast from society in many ways. But his family fought for his rights. For over a year and a half his family fought tooth and nail to get him back into school where he belonged. They took the issue to court, for his legal right to an education, and medical experts spoke on his behalf. While he was never treated completely fairly until his timely death in 1990, his activism greatly impacted the lessening of stigma toward HIV patients throughout both the United States and the rest of the world. May he rest easy.
https://hab.hrsa.gov/about-ryan-white-hivaids-program/who-was-ryan-white
https://www.verywellhealth.com/hemophilia-and-hiv-48852