Claim: HIV-positive basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson donated blood to patients with leukemia. 
Verdict: REFUTES

Retrieved passages:
title: Magic Johnson
text: ESPN in 2007. His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, are well documented. Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker. His public announcement of his HIV-positive status in 1991 helped dispel the stereotype, still widely held at the time, that HIV was a "gay disease" that heterosexuals need not worry about; his bravery in making this announcement was widely commended. Named by "Ebony" magazine as one of

title: Pau Gasol
text: the perfect student, a tad shy, and a bit of a joker." He originally did not want to make sports his career. On the day that Magic Johnson announced his HIV-positive status in 1991, the 11-year-old Gasol, who had heard the news in school, decided that he wanted to be a doctor and find a cure for AIDS. He enrolled in medical school at the University of Barcelona, but left as his basketball career at FC Barcelona advanced. He remains strongly interested in medicine. Gasol regularly visits Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, a standard stop for athletes making charitable visits

title: Magic Johnson
text: that they, too, were at risk". At the time, only a small percentage of HIV-positive American men had contracted it from heterosexual sex, and it was initially rumored that Johnson was gay or bisexual, although he denied both. Johnson later accused Isiah Thomas of spreading the rumors, a claim Thomas denied. Johnson's HIV announcement became a major news story in the United States, and in 2004 was named as ESPN's seventh-most memorable moment of the previous 25 years. Many articles praised Johnson as a hero, and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush said, "For me, Magic is a hero,

title: Magic Johnson
text: tested positive for HIV. In a press conference held on November 7, 1991, Johnson made a public announcement that he would retire immediately. He stated that his wife Cookie and their unborn child did not have HIV, and that he would dedicate his life to "battle this deadly disease". Johnson initially said that he did not know how he contracted the disease, but later acknowledged that it was through having numerous sexual partners during his playing career. He admitted to having "harems of women" and talked openly about his sexual activities because "he was convinced that heterosexuals needed to know

title: 1991–92 Los Angeles Lakers season
text: as HIV can be transmitted by blood contamination, they argued that Johnson would be a deadly risk if he would get a bleeding wound and touch them. One of the most vocal opponents was Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone. Johnson won the skeptics over and made a triumphant return, leading the West to a 153-113 win and being crowned All-Star MVP. The game was also a curiosity, ending prematurely when he drained a last-minute three-pointer and his colleagues refused to play further, instead running collectively on court, hugging him and exchanging high-fives. However, it remained Johnson's last NBA game until

title: Magic Johnson
text: in publicizing the spread of the disease. To prevent his HIV infection from progressing to AIDS, Johnson takes a daily combination of drugs. He has advertised GlaxoSmithKline's drugs, and partnered with Abbott Laboratories to publicize the fight against AIDS in African American communities. In 905 NBA games, Johnson tallied 17,707 points, 6,559 rebounds, and 10,141 assists, translating to career averages of 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game, the highest assists per game average in NBA history. Johnson shares the single-game playoff record for assists (24), holds the Finals record for assists in a game (21), and has

title: Michelle Maykin
text: an assistant dance instructor to Wat Buddhanusorn Thai Temple; as well as Volunteer Activity Coordinator to the Santa Clara Juvenile Hall. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on February 27, 2007, Maykin underwent numerous rounds of chemotherapy and reached a state of remission. After months of searching, she received a cord blood transplant in November 2008 which seemingly allowed her to regain control of certain aspects of her life. Due to her experiences with AML, seeking to help others affected by blood cancer, and seeing the disparities located within the racial make-up of potential donors, she began dedicating herself to helping

title: Magic Johnson
text: began intense workouts to help his fight against HIV, raising his bench press from 135 to 300 pounds, and increasing his weight to 255 pounds. He officially returned to the team on January 29, 1996, and played his first game the following day against the Golden State Warriors. Coming off the bench, Johnson had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists to help the Lakers to a 128–118 victory. On February 14, Johnson recorded the final triple-double of his career, when he scored 15 points, along with 10 rebounds and 13 assists in a victory against the Atlanta Hawks. Playing

title: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
text: Life Marrow Registry. In 2007, a team of doctors in Berlin, Germany, including Gero Hütter, performed a stem cell transplant for leukemia patient Timothy Ray Brown, who was also HIV-positive. From 60 matching donors, they selected a [CCR5]-Δ32 homozygous individual with two genetic copies of a rare variant of a cell surface receptor. This genetic trait confers resistance to HIV infection by blocking attachment of HIV to the cell. Roughly one in 1000 people of European ancestry have this inherited mutation, but it is rarer in other populations. The transplant was repeated a year later after a leukemia relapse. Over

title: 1991–92 Los Angeles Lakers season
text: was going to dedicate his life to spread the word about HIV prevention and promote safer sex. The NBA world was in shock, and even U. S. president George H. W. Bush mourned: "For me, Magic is a hero, a hero for anyone who loves sports." Johnson immediately was listed as an injured reserve on the roster, but due to his valid contract, he continued to be paid by the Lakers franchise. Nonetheless, Johnson was still voted into the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, and the press speculated whether he was going to make a comeback. Moreover, many colleagues were wary:

title: Magic Johnson
text: his 5.5 assists per game was second on the team. Johnson played infrequently because of knee problems, but he received standing ovations from the crowd, and used the opportunity to inspire HIV-positive people. Before the 1992–93 NBA season, Johnson announced his intention to stage an NBA comeback. After practicing and playing in several pre-season games, he retired again before the start of the regular season, citing controversy over his return sparked by opposition from several active players. In an August 2011 interview Johnson said that in retrospect, he wished that he had never retired after being diagnosed with HIV, saying,

title: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
text: The football player had also been an athlete at UCLA. Abdul-Jabbar suffers from migraines, and his use of cannabis to reduce the symptoms has had legal ramifications. In November 2009, Abdul-Jabbar announced that he was suffering from a form of leukemia, Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The disease was diagnosed in December 2008, but Abdul-Jabbar said his condition could be managed by taking oral medication daily, seeing his specialist every other month and having his blood analyzed regularly. He expressed in a 2009 press conference that he did not believe that the

title: Magic Johnson
text: cover all low-income people with AIDS. He was also the main speaker for the United Nations (UN) World AIDS Day Conference in 1999, and has served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. HIV had been associated with drug addicts and homosexuals, but Johnson's campaigns sought to show that the risk of infection was not limited to those groups. Johnson stated that his aim was to "help educate all people about what [HIV] is about" and teach others not to "discriminate against people who have HIV and AIDS". Johnson was later criticized by the AIDS community for his decreased involvement

title: Timothy Ray Brown
text: infection by blocking attachment of HIV to the cell. Roughly 10% of people of European or Western Asian ancestry have this inherited mutation, but it is rarer in other populations. The transplant was repeated a year later after a leukemia relapse. Over the three years after the initial transplant, and despite discontinuing antiretroviral therapy, researchers could not detect HIV in Brown's blood or in various biopsies. Levels of HIV-specific antibodies in Timothy Brown's blood also declined, suggesting that functional HIV may have been eliminated from his body. However, scientists studying his case warn that this remission of HIV infection is

title: The Berlin Patient
text: The world-renowned "second" Berlin patient, Timothy Ray Brown, had a bone marrow transplant on February 7, 2007 to cure his leukemia, and hopefully his HIV. The results of the procedure were presented by Dr. Gero Hütter at the CROI 2008 Conference in Boston. He received a stem cell transplant from a donor naturally immune to HIV and has remained off antiretroviral therapy since the first day of his stem cell transplant. Their stories were chronicled in the 2014 book, "Cured: The People who Defeated HIV" (2015) by Nathalia Holt. However, the book is misleading because it describes the first Berlin

title: Magic Johnson
text: in her second presidential campaign. He hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign on August 22, 2016. After announcing his infection in November 1991, Johnson created the Magic Johnson Foundation to help combat HIV, although he later diversified the foundation to include other charitable goals. In 1992, he joined the National Commission on AIDS, a committee appointed by members of Congress and the Bush Administration. Johnson left after eight months, saying that the White House had "utterly ignored" the work of the panel, and had opposed the commission's recommendations, which included universal healthcare and the expansion of Medicaid to

title: Stewart Francke
text: Newspapers, and he was awarded a Creative Artist Grant by Artserve Michigan in 2003. A leukemia and bone marrow transplant survivor of 10 years, Francke often plays benefit concerts and donates his time to cancer support efforts. The SFLF continues to support many organizations such as Karmanos Cancer Institute, the Children's Leukemia Foundation, The National Bone Marrow Transplant Link, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Gilda's Club. The priority mission of the foundation is to fund low income patients and increase marrow donation in minority communities. Francke and Broadway star Brian d'Arcy James recently raised $92,000 for the Fields Neurological

title: HIV/AIDS research
text: gel, he sees "potential for using nanoparticles with melittin as therapy for existing HIV infections, especially those that are drug-resistant. The nanoparticles could be injected intravenously and, in theory, would be able to clear HIV from the blood stream." In 2007, Timothy Ray Brown, a 40-year-old HIV-positive man, also known as "the Berlin Patient", was given a stem cell transplant as part of his treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). A second transplant was made a year later after a relapse. The donor was chosen not only for genetic compatibility but also for being homozygous for a CCR5-Δ32 mutation that

title: Bob Massie (politician)
text: one of the longest survivors with HIV and offered his case to Dr. Bruce D. Walker at Massachusetts General Hospital for review. Extensive study of Massie’s blood has contributed to research and treatment studies around the world, and he was the subject of a NOVA documentary in 1999.. In 1996 and 2002 Massie had surgeries to replace his knee joints, damaged from the repetitive joint bleeds. In June 2009, Massie received a liver transplant, in a procedure performed at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, which cured not only his hepatitis C, but also his hemophilia. The clotting factor in blood

title: ISMETT
text: kidney transplant. Because of this success the rules in Italy have been changed and now HIV-positive patients are not any longer denied access to transplantation if they need it. In 2007, for the first time in the world, an ISMETT team led by Dr. Bruno Gridelli performed a lung transplant on an HIV positive patient In this case, the intervention was authorized by the Ministry and was included within an experimental program launched by the National Transplant Center. This time, no controversy was recorded and the procedure received congratulatory press. In 2007, the Regenerative Medicine and Cell Therapy Unit (Unità