Ryan White

Ryan White: Raised Awareness of AIDS

Ryan White, a teen from Indiana, was a hemophiliac who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. He passed away at 18, with family and Elton John by his bedside. Through his struggle with the disease, White became the new face of the epidemic, debunking the myth that AIDS afflicted only drug users and the sexually promiscuous. His fight for fair and equal treatment from his public school system helped expose the discrimination faced by AIDS patients.