Ryan White December 5, 1971 - April 8, 1990

Ryan Wayne White was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after being expelled from school because of his infection.

Ryan White was born at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Kokomo, Indiana, to Jeanne Elaine (Hale) and Hubert Wayne White. When he was six days old, doctors diagnosed him with severe Hemophilia A, a hereditary blood coagulation disorder associated with the x chromosome, which causes even minor injuries to result in severe bleeding. For treatment, he received transfusions of Factor VIII, a blood product created from pooled plasma of non-hemophiliacs, an increasingly common treatment for hemophiliacs at the time.

A hemophiliac, he became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment and, when diagnosed in 1984, was given six months to live. Though doctors said he posed no risk to other students, AIDS was poorly understood at the time, and when White tried to return to school, many parents and teachers in Kokomo rallied against his attendance.

A lengthy legal battle with the school system ensued, and media coverage of the struggle made White into a national celebrity and spokesman for AIDS research and public education.

The publicity of White's trial catapulted him into the national spotlight, amidst a growing wave of AIDS coverage in the news media. Between 1985 and 1987, the number of news stories about AIDS in the American media doubled. While isolated in middle school, White appeared frequently on national television and in newspapers to discuss his tribulations with the disease. Eventually he became known as a poster boy for the AIDS crisis, appearing in fundraising and educational campaigns for the disorder. White participated in numerous public benefits for children with AIDS.

He appeared frequently in the media with celebrities such as Elton John, Michael Jackson and Phil Donahue. Surprising his doctors, Ryan lived five years longer than predicted and died in April 1990, shortly before he would have completed high school.

The United States Congress passed a major piece of AIDS legislation, the Ryan White Care Act, shortly after White's death. The Act was reauthorized in 2009; its Ryan White Programs are the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.