Our Volunteers

"I have a genetic gift."—Rod, Study Volunteer

For over twenty years, Rod Fichter has been HIV-positive, but he's never had a symptom and has never been on anti-retroviral medications. "I realized that I had a special gift—a genetic gift," says the 56-year-old.

Fichter is among the lucky few whose bodies naturally keep the HIV virus at extremely low levels. In 1997, he began volunteering for the Long-term Nonprogressor Study at the Seattle HVTU. The study examines the genes of "controllers," or people like Rod who have not contracted AIDS despite being HIV-positive.

"I thought if I joined the study, something could be done to help others. It's not a whole lot of effort for me to go to the clinic and give blood [for the purposes of the study]. I wish I could do something more," he says.

In November 2006, Rod was profiled in The Seattle Times. He said that after the article was published, he received tremendous response. "The story was on the front page of the Thanksgiving Day paper. People I hadn't heard from in years called me up," he says with a laugh. "A lot of people knew I was gay, but they didn't know the rest of it. They told me how great it was that I was participating in the study."


Explore further:	Our Volunteers "I have a genetic gift."—Rod, Study Volunteer For over twenty years, Rod Fichter has been HIV-positive, but he's never had a symptom and has never been on anti-retroviral medications. "I realized that I had a special gift—a genetic gift," says the 56-year-old. Fichter is among the lucky few whose bodies naturally keep the HIV virus at extremely low levels. In 1997, he began volunteering for the Long-term Nonprogressor Study at the Seattle HVTU. The study examines the genes of "controllers," or people like Rod who have not contracted AIDS despite being HIV-positive. "I thought if I joined the study, something could be done to help others. It's not a whole lot of effort for me to go to the clinic and give blood [for the purposes of the study]. I wish I could do something more," he says. In November 2006, Rod was profiled in The Seattle Times. He said that after the article was published, he received tremendous response. "The story was on the front page of the Thanksgiving Day paper. People I hadn't heard from in years called me up," he says with a laugh. "A lot of people knew I was gay, but they didn't know the rest of it. They told me how great it was that I was participating in the study."