phoneFree call from UK 0800 52 00 161 / Other countries: +34 960 451 185 personPrivate Area
phone

Free call

Request information
IVI IVI
MENUMENU
  • Treatments and services
        • ASSISTED REPRODUCTION
          • Artificial Insemination (AI)
          • In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
          • Egg donation
          • Genetic IVF (IVF + PGT-A)
        • PRESERVATION OF FERTILITY
          • Preservation of Fertility
        • IVI BABY PLAN
          • IVI Baby
        • TECHNIQUES
          • Vitrification of oocytes
          • EmbryoScope®
          • Semen Donation
          • ICSI
          • MACS
          • ROPA Method
          • Perfect Match 360º
        • TEST
          • Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT)
          • Non-Invasive Prenatal Tests
          • CGT: Compatibility Genetic Test
        • OUR DONORS
          • IVI: one of the world’s largest egg banks
        • Success rates
        • Prices
        • True Stories
        • The team
  • Clinics
        • Spain
          • A Coruña
          • Alicante
          • Almeria
          • Barcelona
          • Bilbao
          • Burgos
          • Cartagena
          • Castellon
          • Girona
          • Ibiza
          • Las Palmas
          • Lleida
          • Madrid – Alcorcón
          • Madrid – Aravaca
          • Málaga
          • Mallorca - Manacor
          • Mallorca - Palma
          • Murcia
          • Pamplona
          • Salamanca
          • San Sebastián
          • Santander
          • Sevilla
          • Tenerife
          • Valencia
          • Valladolid
          • Vigo
          • Vitoria
          • Zaragoza
        • United Kingdom
          • London
        • Portugal
          • Faro
          • Lisboa
        • Italy
          • Milano
          • Roma Casilino
          • Roma Parioli
        • Argentine
          • Buenos Aires
        • Panama
          • Panamá
        • Chile
          • Santiago de Chile
        • Brazil
          • Salvador
        • USA
          • RMA of Florida
          • RMA of New Jersey
          • RMA of Philadelphia
          • RMA of Southern California
  • FAQs
        • Your first visit to IVI
        • How hormones affect your ability to get pregnant
        • What is infertility?
        • Causes of infertility
        • IVI around the world
        • Where Life Begins
        • Quality and continuous improvement
        • COD-19
        • Coronavirus: COVID-19
  • Egg Donation Program in Spain
  • Blog
  • Request information
  • Submenu-item-responsive-2
    • Egg Donation Program in Spain
    • Blog
    • Private area
  • Submenu-item-responsive-3
    • Success rates
    • Prices
    • The team
    • True stories
1 December 2015

Sperm washing: protecting your baby from HIV

Home > Blog > Sperm washing: protecting your baby from HIV
By the Editorial Comitee IVI Blog

Just over a decade ago, a very special baby was born using IVF at one of our IVI clinics. The baby’s father was HIV-positive, the mother was not; the baby was born free of the virus. This was a first for IVI and was made possible by a particular process of assisted reproduction that would have sounded like science fiction a few years earlier. The father’s sperm underwent a washing treatment to ensure that the virus was not transmitted to the baby. This remarkable treatment meant that the couple could fulfil their dream of starting a family and do so safely.

Today, on World AIDS Day, we remember that child and that couple and the milestone they represent for the many couples affected by HIV. Wanting a family and controlling HIV infection are equally important to the couples who find themselves in a similar situation. Assisted reproduction offers the possibility of achieving both these things and at the same time ensuring that the child is healthy — always the top priority in assisted reproduction. When the man is HIV-positive but the woman is not (so-called serodiscordant heterosexual couples), assisted reproduction techniques are a way of avoiding the risk of infection for both the mother and the child.

Sperm washing is the key assisted reproduction technique for removing HIV. The virus is not contained in the sperm itself, but in the plasma and other cells present in semen. When the man is a carrier, sperm washing can remove the infection and the woman can then begin a cycle of assisted reproduction.

What is sperm washing?

Sperm washing is a simple procedure that is performed in the high-security area of an andrology laboratory. Samples with the virus are kept strictly separate from other samples that are being processed.
The technique separates the sperm from the seminal plasma and other cells that may be HIV-positive. The sperm sample is then frozen and checked using molecular biology techniques to ensure it is free of infection.

These tests are best performed before starting any reproduction or ovarian stimulation treatment, to ensure that the sperm sample is safe and suitable for insemination.

Treatment after sperm washing

Although artificial insemination can be performed after sperm washing, the most common procedure is intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This is an in vitro fertilisation technique performed in the laboratory after the sperm has been checked to make sure it is free of HIV. The sperm is injected directly into the egg using a pipette.

HIV epidemiology today

According to data from UNAIDS, there were around 35 million people worldwide living with HIV at the end of 2013; 9% were children under the age of 15. More than 2 million people are infected with HIV each year. The virus caused 1.5 million deaths worldwide in 2013. However, advances in medicine and in society mean more people have access to antiretroviral therapy treatment each year. This has contributed to a significant decrease in mortality and an increase in the quality of life for people living with HIV.

In the UK, an estimated 6,000 new cases of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed 2013; one person in 107,500. The two groups most affected remain gay and bisexual men and black African people – three quarters of people diagnosed with HIV in 2013 belonged to one these two groups. In 2013, an estimated 107,800 people were living with HIV in the UK. The number of new diagnoses peaked in 2005 and has been declining ever since, largely due to a decrease in cases diagnosed among people born in countries where the prevalence of HIV is high. The rate of diagnoses among Men who have Sex with Men remains constant, with around 1 in 17 living with the condition.

No related posts.

Request more information, no obligation

Contact us

Share on social networks

twitter facebook

1 Comment

  • care women centre says:
    24 June 2019 at 11:49 am

    This Blog is so informative where we get lots of information on any medical topic. Nice job keep it up!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share on social networks

twitter facebook
Featured articles

Everything you need to know about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
24 December 2020
Everything you need to know about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

What is the difference between primordial follicles and primary follicles?
27 November 2020
What is the difference between primordial follicles and primary follicles?

False (Phantom) Pregnancy: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments
24 November 2020
False (Phantom) Pregnancy: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

What is anti Mullerian hormone?
20 November 2020
What is anti Mullerian hormone?
Back to toparrow_drop_up
IVI

© 2021 IVI.
All rights reserved

  • Legal Notice
  • Cookies Policy
  • Assisted reproduction treatments
  • Clinics
  • FAQs
  • Corporate information
  • IVI Global Education
  • IVIRMA Innovation
  • Jobs at IVI
  • Press room
  • IVIRMA Media Awards
HEAD OFFICES
  • location_on Calle Colón 1, 4ª planta, 46004 Valencia. España.
  • España
  • Italia
  • Portugal
  • France
  • Deutschland
  • РОССИЯ
  • UK
COUNTRY
International
España Italia Portugal France Deutschland РОССИЯ UK
  • Certificado
  • Certificado
  • Certificado
  • logo
SOCIAL NETWORKS
    • rrss
    • rrss
    • rrss
    • rrss
    • rrss
RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER
Sending
Thank you for subscribing!