>> WE ARE BACK WITH A "GMA" EXCLUSIVE. GOOD MORNING, JUJU. >> DOCTORS DON'T LIKE TO USE THE WORD "CURE" AND "AIDS" IN THE SAME SENTENCE, BUT AFTER 30 YEARS OF BATTLING HIV, THIS MAN WAS ABLE TO STOP TAKING HIS MEDS AND REMAIN HIV FREE, ALL THANKS TO A MIRACULOUS LIFE-SAVING BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT. >> WHAT WAS IT LIKE WALKING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS? >> I'M REALLY HAPPY I'M ABLE TO COME OUT UNTIL MY STORY. >> FOR PAUL EDMONDS, THE JOURNEY STARTED AFTER COMING OUT AS GAY, THE SMALL TOWN BOY MOVING TO SAN FRANCISCO AFTER. >> I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS. >> BY THE EARLY '80s, A DARK CLOUD MOVED OVER THE GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT. >> WHAT DID PEOPLE CALL IT? >> GAY CANCER. IT WAS QUITE SCARY. NO ONE KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING. >> GAY MEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY DIED BY THE THOUSANDS OF AIDS-RELATED ILLNESSES. THE FEAR, PALPABLE. >> IT WAS LIKE A CURSE. PEOPLE WERE AFRAID OF EACH OTHER. I WASN'T READY TO BE TESTED BECAUSE I KIND OF FELT LIKE IT'S GOING TO MEAN A DEATH SENTENCE. >> IN 1988 HE FINALLY GOT TESTED. POSITIVE FOR HIV. BUT THE CLOUDS LIFTED A BID IN 1992 WHEN PAUL FELL FOR AN AIRMAN, ARNIE HOUSE. >> WE MET IN SAN FRANCISCO. I WAS AT A HAPPY HOUR. >> PAUL WALKED IN AND I SAW HIM AND I IMMEDIATELY KNEW THAT I HAD TO TALK TO HIM. SO I WENT OVER TO HIM AND WHISPERED IN HIS EAR. I SAID, "I WANT TO KNOW YOU." >> HE, TOO, WAS HIV POSITIVE. BETTER ANTIRETROVIRALS. ANOTHER DIAGNOSIS WAS LOOMING. IN 2018, PAUL LEARNED HE HAD LEUKEMIA. >> EVEN LIVING WITH HIV FOR 30 YEARS AT THAT POINT. WHAT WAS YOUR GUT REACTION, YOUR IMMEDIATE REACTION? >> MY IMMEDIATE REACTION, IF IT LIKE MY HEART SINKS. >> WHAT KEPT YOU GOING? >> THE POSITIVE ATTITUDE. I WASN'T READY TO DIE. >> AFTER CHEMO HE WAS OFFERED A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT AS A PERMANENT CURE FOR LEUKEMIA, PLUS A POSSIBLE ADDED BONUS. HIS BONE MARROW DONOR WOULD BE RESISTANT TO HIV INFECTION. AWARE OF MY CAREER THAT PUT PAUL INTO REMISSION. >> IT'S A RARE MUTATION THAT EXISTS IN ROUGHLY 1% OF THE POPULATION. IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE FIND VERY COMMONLY. >> WHAT WAS THAT LIKE, HEARING THE NEWS THAT THEY'S MOON SHOT WAS EVEN POSSIBLE? >> JUST INCREDIBLE. >> THE CHEMO FOR THE TRANSPLANT, GRUELING. THE OUTCOME, SPECTACULAR. LEUKEMIA REMAINED IN REMISSION. >> THAT WAS THE BEST NEWS I HAD EVER HEARD. >> AND PAUL BECAME THE FIFTH PERSON EVER TO GO INTO REMISSION FROM HIV. NOW FOUR YEARS AFTER THE TRANSPLANT, TWO YEARS AFTER GOING OFF HIS HIV MEDS. >> WE CAN'T FIND EVIDENCE OF REPLICATING HIV IN HIS SYSTEM. IT'S BEEN AMAZING, SUCH A JOURNEY. >> I WAS INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL, GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE, GRATEFUL THERE WAS A DONOR. VERY, VERY GRATEFUL. >> IT'S ALL ABOUT GRATITUDE. DOCTORS TOLD US THAT ONE IN SEVEN PEOPLE WHO LIVE WITH HIV DON'T EVEN KNOW THEY ARE POSITIVE, SO TESTING IS KEY, BECAUSE IT IS SO EASY TO STOP THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. BUT THE OTHER KEY FOR THOSE WITH HIV AND CANCER ARE MORE DONORS. AND THE DOCTORS AT CITY OF HOPE CREDIT BE THE MATCH, AND ROBIN, THEY WERE GOING ON AND ON ABOUT HOW YOU ARE A GAME CHANGER, BECAUSE YOU'VE TAUGHT US ALL THAT THE MORE PEOPLE SIGN UP TO BE THE MATCH, THE MORE PEOPLE LIKE PAUL CAN HAVE THEIR LIVES SAVED. THAT GAVE ME GOOSE BUMPS. >> YOU GAVE ME GOOSE BUMPS, AS WELL. BUT AGAIN, IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO BE A MESSENGER. YOU NEVER KNOW THE LIVES THEY ARE GOING TO IMPACT, AND I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT WE HERE AT "GOOD MORNING AMERICA," FOR MY ANNIVERSARY, HOW WE HAD THOSE DRIVES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY LIKE THAT. I'M SO GLAD THAT HE'S DOING WELL. >> AND EVEN TODAY. >> PEOPLE WANT TO HELP PEOPLE, AND YOU