Setting up a Blood Bank for Gene Therapy in HIV-Infected Infants

The purpose of this study is to set up a blood bank for infants who have HIV-positive mothers. This blood may be used in the future to treat the child if he/she turns out to be HIV-positive. Blood from the umbilical cord contains a certain kind of cell called a stem cell. Stem cells eventually turn into one of the many types of blood cells. If HIV infection can be prevented in these stem cells, then, when these stem cells are injected back into the infant, the new cells that develop will also be protected from HIV. This study will provide the blood needed to test whether this type of gene therapy is safe and effective.