BAHRAIN may soon introduce a ‘sperm washing’ treatment that will help HIV positive men have children without infecting their partners.
There are eight couples who currently fall into this category, where either one of the partner is a HIV carrier, National Aids Prevention Committee head Dr Soumya Al Jowder told the GDN.
“We have some couples where one of the partners is a virus carrier and wants to conceive,” she said.
“We strongly advise them not to conceive or start a family as this poses a risk of infection being passed on to the child.”
Dr Al Jowder said that currently none of them had children, but some couples were approaching her to ask what complications they would face in starting a family.
“This is one of the reasons why we are pushing to introduce sperm washing treatment in the country,” she said.
“The facility could be provided by certain fertility clinics in private hospitals, which would have their laboratories with special facilities and equipment to carry out the treatment.”
Dr Al Jowder said that they could not stop such couples from having children and the sperm washing treatment was the best solution to help them have a healthy child.
Health authorities have registered 48 new HIV cases since January, with 37 of them being non-Bahrainis who have been since deported.
HIV positive men can pass infection to their partner, as their semen may contain the virus, she said.
According to the treatment, individual sperm are separated from the surrounding seminal fluid by a centrifuge, a device that separates components of a liquid as it spins at high speed.
The sperm are then washed twice in a solution, in an effort to remove unwanted materials.
The frozen sample can be stored until the women’s ovulation and the seminal fluid can be placed in the uterus.
The treatment is also used in fertility clinics around the world to increase the chances of pregnancy.
Sperm washing can remove dead sperm and leaves behind sperm that are more likely to fertilise the egg.
Dr. Al Jowder said in case a female is HIV positive and wants to have a baby, they put her on medication during the fourth month of pregnancy.
“I would always advise such couples not to conceive and take all precautionary measures to avoid spread of infection,” she said.
The Health Ministry also conducts mandatory pre-nuptial checks for couples before they get married and if anything is detected in the tests, they advise the couple not to marry.
Gulf Daily