Transmission risk of hepatitis C virus in assisted reproductive techniques

Medical assistance for procreation in a couple where one or both parents has hepatitis C viral infection (HCV) raises the issue of the transmission of the infection to the baby and/or of possible contamination of both the technicians and the gametes or embryos from virus-free parents in the laboratory. It becomes essential to assess transmission risk in assisted reproductive techniques in order to define clearly the management of couples according to their viral status. To define the HCV transmissibility risk in assisted reproduction related to the presence of virus in semen from infected infertile men, HCV RNA detection was performed in sera, and semen and sperm fractions obtained after Percoll gradient centrifugation. HCV RNA was detected in 5% (2/39) of the semen samples tested: in the raw semen, in the seminal fluid and in the cell pellet but never after Percoll selection. According to these results, we suggest a strategy for HCV-infected infertile men who need assistance for procreation.