Sperm washing
Encyclopedia
Sperm washing is a term used to describe the process in which individual sperms
are separated from the seminal fluid. The sperms are then used in intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Sperm washing is a standard procedure used in infertility
treatment.
Sperm may be "washed" by density gradient centrifugation or by a "direct swim-up" technique that doesn't involve centrifugation. In normal semen samples, centrifugation causes no more DNA damage to spermatozoa than a direct swim-up technique.
couples treated with sperm washing resulted in no horizontal (to the woman) or vertical (to the child) HIV seroconversion
. However, there is no 100% guarantee that washed sperm is free from virus.
, Italy
and has so far not resulted in any female becoming HIV positive. The oldest child conceived using this method is now about 11 and is HIV negative. The first known American baby conceived this way, Baby Ryan, was born in 1999 through the Special Program of Assisted Reproduction
started by Dr. Ann Kiessling
Starting in the mid-1990s it was adopted to help HIV discordant
couples conceive without passing the virus from the father to the mother or child. The idea is that when the male is HIV
positive the technique will reduce the risk of transmission to the female. For years there were lingering doubts about the safety of the procedure, and many couples had to travel to locales that would do the procedure, such as Italy. Today, hundreds of babies have been born through this process.
Spermatozoon
A spermatozoon is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote...
are separated from the seminal fluid. The sperms are then used in intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Sperm washing is a standard procedure used in infertility
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
treatment.
Sperm may be "washed" by density gradient centrifugation or by a "direct swim-up" technique that doesn't involve centrifugation. In normal semen samples, centrifugation causes no more DNA damage to spermatozoa than a direct swim-up technique.
Decreased HIV transmission
It can be used to decrease the risk of HIV transmission in HIV-positive fathers, because the HIV infection is carried by the seminal fluid rather than the sperm. One Italian study from 2005 of 567 serodiscordantSerodiscordant
Serodiscordant is a term used to describe a couple in which one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative. Serodiscordant relationships are also referred to as "magnetic". The term seroconcordant is its antonym, used to describe a couple in which both partners are of the same HIV...
couples treated with sperm washing resulted in no horizontal (to the woman) or vertical (to the child) HIV seroconversion
Seroconversion
Seroconversion is the development of detectable specific antibodies to microorganisms in the blood serum as a result of infection or immunization. Serology is used to determine antibody positivity...
. However, there is no 100% guarantee that washed sperm is free from virus.
History
Sperm washing was first used in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and has so far not resulted in any female becoming HIV positive. The oldest child conceived using this method is now about 11 and is HIV negative. The first known American baby conceived this way, Baby Ryan, was born in 1999 through the Special Program of Assisted Reproduction
Special Program of Assisted Reproduction
The Special Program of Assisted Reproduction is a program offered to HIV discordant couples at the Bedford Research Foundation’s clinical laboratory...
started by Dr. Ann Kiessling
Ann Kiessling
Dr. Ann A. Kiessling is an American reproductive biologist and is currently one of the leaders in human parthenogenic stem cell research at The Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation. She also has an appointment in the Department of Surgery at Harvard Medical SchoolDr. Kiessling is noted for her...
Starting in the mid-1990s it was adopted to help HIV discordant
Serodiscordant
Serodiscordant is a term used to describe a couple in which one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative. Serodiscordant relationships are also referred to as "magnetic". The term seroconcordant is its antonym, used to describe a couple in which both partners are of the same HIV...
couples conceive without passing the virus from the father to the mother or child. The idea is that when the male is HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
positive the technique will reduce the risk of transmission to the female. For years there were lingering doubts about the safety of the procedure, and many couples had to travel to locales that would do the procedure, such as Italy. Today, hundreds of babies have been born through this process.