British medical experts have today urged a patient to come forward for more tests after he apparently shook off the killer HIV virus.
Scotsman Andrew Stimpson (25), was diagnosed as being HIV-positive in August 2002, but 14 months later blood tests gave him the all-clear.
Mr Stimpson told two British Sunday newspapers he felt special and blessed to have been "cured" and that he looked forward to helping doctors in their bid to beat the killer condition.
But Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust, who carried out the initial tests, said Mr Stimpson has so far declined to undergo further tests with them. A spokeswoman confirmed Mr Stimpson had had a positive and a negative test for the virus, but she stopped short of saying he had been cured.
She said: "I can confirm that he has a positive and a negative test.
"I can't confirm with you that he's shaken it off, that he's been cured.
"When we became aware of his HIV-negative result we offered him further tests to help us investigate and find an explanation.
"So far he has declined to do so.
She also confirmed Mr Stimpson had subsequently tried to sue the hospital, believing his initial positive test was inaccurate. But he was told there was no case to answer because both tests were correct, she said.
The spokeswoman said it rare for someone to test negative for HIV after receiving a positive test. She insisted there was no chance a mistake had crept into the testing system.
"Those tests are both accurate, the positive and a negative. They are correct," she said.
Mr Stimpson told the News of the World: "It's so amazing to think that one day I was staring death in the face and now I'm waving it goodbye.
"I have no idea how I got rid of the virus. I was just taking daily supplements to keep myself as healthy as possible so as not to get full-blown Aids.
"But maybe it's all down to some genetics in my immune system - so it's important for me to help with research because it can be a big step forward towards a cure for everyone."
And he told the Mail on Sunday: "I can't help wondering if I hold the cure for Aids. "There are 34.9 million people with HIV and if I have something to contribute, then I am willing and ready to help."
PA