Lawrence David "Larry" Kramer (June 25, 1935 – May 27, 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. In 1988, stress over the closing of his play forced Kramer into the hospital after it aggravated a congenital hernia. While in surgery, doctors discovered liver damage due to Hepatitis B, prompting Kramer to learn that he was HIV positive. In 2001, at the age of 66, Kramer was in dire need of a liver transplant, but he was turned down by Mount Sinai Hospital's organ transplant list.
People living with HIV were routinely considered inappropriate candidates for organ transplants because of complications from HIV and perceived short lifespans. Out of the 4,954 liver transplants performed in the United States, only 11 were for HIV-positive people. Kramer became a symbol for infected people who had new leases on life due to advances in medicine. .
In May 2001, the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, which had performed more transplants for HIV positive patients than any other facility in the world, accepted Kramer on its list. Kramer received a new liver on December 21, 2001. In April 2019 he suffered a broken leg.
Kramer died from pneumonia on May 27, 2020, at age 84, less than a month short of his 85th birthday.
Below death triwheel, liver transplant biwheel and rectified natal chart.
