MAY 25 . 2002 • Q-NOTES
Paternity Hope for Men with HIV
by datalounge.com
17
Dr. Mark Sauer
NEW YORK, NY — The New York Times
reported that with the advent of new fertility
methods, men infected with HIV may no
longer have
to give up on
the dream of
fathering
children.
In Feb
ruary, the
ethics com-
m i t t e e
serving the
American
Society for
Reproduc
tive Med
icine voted
to remove
HIV-related
prohibitions on the delivery of fertility
services.
New techniques that separate semen
from the seminal fluid carrying HIV gives
new hope to thousands of would-be gay
dads who thought the possibility of
fathering a biological child with a willing
female would remain forever closed to them.
The obstacles remain formidable,
however. The Times notes that several
states — including California, Florida and
Illinois — still prevent doctors from using
HIV infected semen for artificial
insemination.
The Times says that helping men with
HIV have children is one of the last taboos
for fertility specialists, who now routinely
offer services to patients with advanced
cancer, gay men who use surrogate
mothers, single women who pick sperm
donors from catalogs and women well
past menopause.
While no statistics indicate how many
of the nation’s nearly 400 fertility clinics
offer services to men with HIV, anecdotal
evidence suggests the number is very
small, perhaps only a handful.
Complicating matters, most of these
clinics tend to shun publicity out of
concern they will scare away other
couples.
Clinics say new techniques can
minimize the risk of transmission from an
infected man to an uninfected woman, but
too few case studies have been
documented to give professionals an idea
of the risk. Treating women with HIV is
more controversial still, because an
infected woman is much more likely to
pass the virus to her baby.
Dr. Mark Sauer of Columbia University
says most of these risks can be minimized.
He said he decided several years ago that
the risk of transmitting the virus through
the use of infected sperm could be greatly
reduced by using a technique called
“intracytoplasmic sperm injection,”
injecting a single sperm into an egg.
Dr. Sauer said his clinic had treated 54
infected men. So far, 29 women have
become pregnant and have had their
babies or are more than halfway through
pregnancy. Thirty babies have been born,
with nearly half the women having twins,
as is typical in fertility treatment. He also
noted that European methods in wider use
have resulted in 250 successful
pregnancies with no viral transmission.
"I know a lot of HIV-positive people,”
Dr. Sauer told The Times. “They are feeling
well, they are doing well. Of course, a lot
of them would want kids.”
info:
www.columbia.edu
TOUGH
from page 15
The Pride Alliance, Falco said, offers
support groups for assaulted LGBT
students, as well as an introduction at each
freshman orientation to help students
adjust to campus life and teach them to
tolerate each other. LGBT Equity also tries
to work with students who have been
attacked or harassed, and they try to make
sure the university is addressing LGBT
issues, said Jensen.
The group is also working to create an
undergraduate degree program in LGBT
studies.
Falco said LGBT students on the campus
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arrangement problems.
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