|
|
Question - Effects of HIV Positive Male on Conception:
"Is it possible for a man who is HIV positive to produce a normal embryo using in vitro fertilization? Is there a way of assuring an HIV negative child if the biological father is HIV+?"
Answer:
As you may already know, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is just that -- a virus. It is not a genetic condition. So the problem we are talking about here is finding a way of avoiding viral transmission, not the transmission of genetic issues.
That said, I will assume that you also are already aware of the various modes of transmission of HIV and many other viruses (such as other STI's), including the mode of contact that may result in pregnancy -- semen introduced into a woman's vagina.
The primary concern is that a woman with HIV stands a chance of transmitting the virus to her unborn child. Fortunately, there are several protocols which have tremendously reduced the rate of maternal-infant transmission.
The role of a man in transmitting HIV to his biological child, then, would be by transmitting HIV to the biological mother. If this can be avoided, then transmission to the child will be avoided.
HIV, the virus itself, would be found present in a man's seminal fluid if he were HIV positive. It would not be found encoded, so to speak, within each sperm cell, as some genetic problems are (like Tay Sachs disease, Sickle Cell anemia, and others.)
IVF involves the use of actual gametes (sperm and egg cells), not seminal fluid. For that reason, I suspect that IVF would be one route around transmission, so long as the female partner is definitely HIV negative and remains negative throughout the pregnancy.
At this point in time, there are certain sperm washing methods which have been used with intrauterine insemination (IUI) in an effort to literally "wash" the virus from the man's semen. To my knowledge, this has been relatively successful in both producing pregnancies and in avoiding transmission to the mother and, hence, the child. However, you should know that there is some debate on the ethics of such assistance and therefore resistance, particularly in the United States.
More: IVF
© Tracy Morris
