# Ryan White Indiana teenager (1971–1990) with hemophilia who contracted HIV from contaminated blood products and, in 1985, was barred from his Kokomo-area middle school by parental panic — becoming the national face of AIDS stigma and, unwillingly, the era's "innocent victim" framing (a framing he himself rejected, insisting no one deserved the disease). Died April 8, 1990, at 18. Four months later Congress passed the [[Ryan White CARE Act]] in his name — still the backbone of domestic HIV care. See [[AIDS Crisis Timeline]]. ## See Also - [[Ryan White CARE Act]] · [[AIDS Crisis Timeline]]