Research may help HIV infected men to have children safely
27 October, 2000
Researchers presenting at the 2000 American Society of Reproductive Medicine’s meeting in the US, have announced that their research on HIV may lead to the development of techniques that will allow people with HIV to have children without transmitting the virus to their partner or children.
A team in Boston reported that blood samples were almost twice as likely as semen to contain HIV. Further to that, HIV was even harder to detect in those men on anti-viral therapy as those who were not, however, the number of men in the study was small so the result was not statistically significant.
French and Italian teams both examined the effectiveness of sperm washing techniques that might reduce the level of HIV virus in semen and sperm. Both teams found that sperm washing reduced the chance of finding HIV, with the Italian team reporting that sperm washing almost eliminated the virus. These techniques look hopeful to increase the chance of HIV positive men reproducing without transmitting the virus.
‘Huge strides have been made in treating HIV in the last few years. Patients with HIV are living longer with more healthy lives. Research like this will enable us to treat the reproductive needs of patients with HIV,’ said Dr R Jeffrey Chang, President of ASRM.
Last Reviewed: 27 October 2000
- American Society of Reproductive Medicine Conference 2000
