HIV transmission through donor artificial insemination

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Donor insemination practices before widespread human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening posed risks.
• The potential for HIV transmission through artificial insemination (AI) using infected donor sperm was a significant public health concern prior to 1986.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and document instances of HIV transmission via donor artificial insemination (AI) conducted before the implementation of routine HIV screening for semen donors.
• To assess the prevalence of HIV infection among women who underwent AI procedures using semen from identified HIV-positive donors.

Main Methods:

• Conducted retrospective look-back studies at five infertility clinics.
• Identified HIV-infected women with prior AI history to trace donors and their recipients.
• Examined women who received AI from identified HIV-infected donors.

Main Results:

• Seven of 199 women (3.52%) who consented to testing were HIV-seropositive after receiving AI from one of five identified HIV-infected donors.
• Three of the five donors with available risk information reported a history of sex with men.
• Four HIV-infected women were identified through circumstances unrelated to routine donor screening.

Conclusions:

• HIV transmission through donor AI before 1986 presented a serious risk to recipients.
• Recommended public health policies include retrospective identification of infected donors and AI recipients, particularly in AIDS-prevalent regions.
• Advised questioning women diagnosed with HIV or AIDS without an identified risk factor about prior AI procedures.