Originally published 2019-10-20.
In the Argentine province of Santa Fe, a newborn girl was turned down by ten families because doctors presumed she had HIV. The eleventh call went to Ariel Vijarra and Damián Pighin, a married couple who had been waiting six years to adopt. They said yes without hesitation, and they named her Olivia. Later tests showed she did not have the virus at all.
Ariel told the Argentine news agency Presentes that the diagnosis "was never an obstacle to saying yes". The couple, who reportedly were among the first same-sex couples to marry in Santa Fe after Argentina legalised same-sex marriage in 2010, went on to adopt a second daughter a few months later; earlier reports named her Victoria. They also founded Acunar, a non-profit that supports people going through the adoption process.
Their photos were widely shared in 2019, together with messages of support from readers around the world. Below are the family pictures, what we know about Olivia's diagnosis, and why the fear that kept ten families away was misplaced.
Ariel Vijarra and Damián Pighin with their daughters. The family's photos were shared widely in 2019 after their adoption story was reported in Argentina.
How Olivia came home
Olivia was 28 days old when a judge's office called the couple. Her birth mother had never been tested for HIV, so doctors treated the baby as if she had been exposed and might be infected. One early test came back positive and the rest were negative, a pattern that left her status uncertain. Ten prospective families had already said no.
The paperwork took three days of going back and forth between the neonatal unit and the court. Once she was home, Olivia was given preventive treatment, including antiretroviral medicine, antibiotics, vitamins and iron, while doctors waited for a clear answer.
Family photos
Olivia as a newborn, asleep under a heart-patterned blanket. She was only 28 days old, and still had to reach the weight needed to leave hospital, when the couple received the call from the court.
One of the fathers holds a toddler in red during a television interview; the "RD" microphone belongs to a local news crew. After the couple went public, regional media in Santa Fe province followed the family's story.
Both fathers hold baby daughters in matching white dresses at a family celebration. About four months after Olivia arrived, the couple were contacted about adopting a second girl, so the sisters are very close in age.
Ariel and Damián sit together on a stage at an event in Rosario. Through their organisation Acunar, they speak publicly about adoption and the rights of people waiting to adopt.
Each father holds one of the girls on his lap. The couple had waited six years on the adoption list, according to Ariel's account to Presentes, before Olivia came into their lives.
One father crouches on the grass with the two little girls, one in a striped jacket, the other in a red coat. Snapshots like this one were what the family chose to share: ordinary moments, not a medical story.
A birthday cake reading "Feliz cumple" (Happy birthday) with both fathers and both daughters. By late 2019 Olivia was five years old.
A selfie of one father with a smiling toddler and a baby. Olivia received preventive medicines as a baby, because one of her early tests had come back positive.
The two sisters smile for the camera behind a decorated frame of colourful paper hands and hearts. Their story became a symbol of inclusive adoption in Argentina, which legalised same-sex marriage, including the right to adopt, in 2010.
The fathers flash peace signs with a presenter at a Rosario television and radio studio. Media appearances helped them reach other people thinking about adoption.
A close-up family selfie; the girls' faces were pixelated before the photo was shared, a sensible way to protect young children's privacy online.
Both fathers bathe newborn Olivia in a small tub. Bathing, feeding and night-time care carry no HIV risk at all, a point health workers repeat because fear of everyday contact still keeps some families away from children like her.
What the HIV tests showed
When Olivia was a year and a half old, an ELISA antibody test came back negative, confirming that she did not have HIV. After that she needed no further tests or special check-ups. Earlier retellings said the virus had "disappeared" from her body; that is not what happened. She was never shown to be infected in the first place.
The timing is not a coincidence. Babies born to mothers with HIV carry their mothers' antibodies for many months, so antibody tests can be positive in a baby who is not infected. That is why antibody testing is usually used to confirm a baby's status only at around 18 months, while doctors rely on other tests and preventive medicine before then.
How readers responded
When the story reached English-language social media, thousands of people left supportive comments. A few of them were collected in screenshots:
One commenter pointed out that HIV is treatable and praised the fathers for having room in their hearts for her. Effective treatment has turned HIV into a manageable, long-term condition for both children and adults.
Another reader stressed that a baby is never to blame for her health status, and called the adoption a lovely gesture. Children cannot choose the circumstances of their birth, and adoption systems are meant to put their needs first.
A third commenter said the couple had looked past the illness and simply seen a beautiful baby girl, calling them heroes. Seeing the child before the diagnosis is exactly what Ariel described in his interview with Presentes.
This reader thanked the authorities for allowing the adoption to go ahead, a reminder that the decision rests with a judge and the child-welfare system.
A commenter noted that HIV today is very manageable and no longer the death sentence it once was. Modern antiretroviral therapy keeps the virus under control with regular medicine.
The same comment was shared twice in the original roundup, which says something about how often this point needed making: with treatment, people with HIV can expect long, healthy lives.
The last comment in the collection praised the two men for taking the baby in and raising her as their own. Many readers made the same point: what set this story apart was the fathers' decision, not the test result.
HIV, babies and adoption: the facts
- Transmission from mother to baby can be prevented. With testing in pregnancy, antiretroviral treatment and preventive medicine for the newborn, transmission rates in high-income countries have fallen below 1 per cent.
- Everyday care is safe. HIV is not passed on by hugging, bathing, feeding, sharing toys or changing nappies.
- Children with HIV can live full lives. A social worker interviewed by Presentes stressed that children living with HIV can have normal lives with treatment, and the same hygiene precautions apply to every child.
- Argentina allows same-sex couples to adopt. Its 2010 marriage law, the first of its kind in Latin America, gave married same-sex couples the same rights, including adoption.
Families considering adopting a child with a health condition should talk to a doctor and to the adoption service about what care is needed; in most cases with HIV today, it is a daily routine rather than a crisis.
Why the story still matters
Olivia's story is moving not because her test turned out negative, but because her fathers did not wait to find out. Children who are older, disabled or living with an illness still wait far longer for a family than healthy newborns. Through Acunar, Ariel and Damián now use their experience to help other people through the same long process they went through themselves.
Sources: Agencia Presentes, 1 December 2019: Gay couple adopted baby girl suspected of having HIV; Wikipedia: Same-sex marriage in Argentina; Wikipedia: Prevention of HIV/AIDS.
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