The interest in adopting HIV+ children is growing at a rapid pace.  I saw this myself last week when I attended the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit in Minneapolis.  It was a wonderful conference full of inspiring teaching and fascinating people.  I attended the Summit with the other three staff members of From HIV to Home and we had a great time getting to know one another in person, not just through emails and staff conference calls.

Together we attended a workshop on HIV+ adoption put on by our friends at Project Hopeful.  We arrived early and as we chatted the room began to fill — and then fill some more.  Soon there were people sitting on the floor and standing in the back, all of them wanting to hear more about the process of adopting HIV+ children, their medical needs, and life with HIV+ kids.

I often get inquiries about HIV+ adoption on A Bushel and A Peck, and I’ve created a resource in my FAQ’s to address the most common questions.  Here are a few examples of questions I am often asked:

• Will having HIV+ children pose any risk to the rest of my children?

The answer is no, absolutely not.  There has never been a documented case of HIV being transmitted between siblings in normal family life.

• Are HIV+  children often sick?

When internationally adopted children first come home, there are a variety of medical issues that need to be addressed.  Most of them are common to all kids adopted from developing countries such as parasites, skin conditions, hearing and vision screening, and a myriad of other things that are most often treated by an international medicine specialist ( if you are fortunate enough to have one nearby), or a well prepared pediatrician.

A child with HIV will also have an appointment with a pediatric Infectious Disease specialist.  Most commonly these doctors are found at Children’s Hospitals and hospitals associated with universities.  The doctor will do very specific testing to determine the best medication regimen for your child.  Once the child begins those medications, and responds well, families have quarterly visits with the specialist.  Other medical issues are covered by your local physician.

My children have struggled with parasites and a scalp fungus that has been a challenge to conquer, but the HIV responded immediately to their ARV medications and they are doing very well.

• Will I outlive my child?

Of course, we don’t know the future, but the good news is that with proper treatment, there is every hope that our HIV+ children will have nearly normal life spans, marry, have children, and enjoy life to the fullest.  There are constant advances in HIV treatment and while I am only cautiously optimistic about a cure in my daughters’ lifetime, I do believe that treatment is going to become better and better and that my children are going to thrive.

If you have questions about adopting children with HIV, please visit From HIV to Home, Positively Orphaned, or my family blog, A Bushel and A Peck for more information.  If you have never considered adopting a child with HIV, you just might find yourself drawn to these wonderful children.

Lisa also writes about her life as the mother of eleven at A Bushel and a Peck.  You can find more information about adopting HIV+ children on her FAQ page.