Obituary: Jeff Getty

Jeff Getty, who has died aged 49, grabbed attention in December 1995 for becoming the first person to receive a bone marrow cell transfusion from one species to another.

His transplant at San Francisco General Hospital used cells taken from a baboon, with the hope that the primate's natural Aids resistance would take root in his Getty's system. The procedure, ultimately unsuccessful, sparked furious debate over the implications of cross-species transplants.

Getty also helped to pave the way for the drug cocktail that keeps many HIV and Aids patients alive today.