HIV-Negative In Vitro Infant Born to Couple Using Treated Sperm From HIV-Positive Husband
A Japanese woman whose husband's sperm was cleared of HIV before her egg was fertilized in vitro gave birth in late October to an HIV-negative infant, Agence France-Presse reports. The woman remained HIV-negative through the procedure. Dr. Hideji Hanabusa, the Ogikubo hospital doctor who performed the procedure with doctors from Niigata University Faculty of Medicine, said that this was the "first case ever in the world" where HIV was completely removed from the sperm that was used for in vitro fertilization, adding that a "special solution" was used to separate the virus from the sperm. The doctors reported that the first successful birth of a baby conceived with HIV-cleared sperm happened last month in Japan when an HIV-negative infant was born to a mother who had been artificially inseminated by her HIV-positive husband's treated sperm. Similar cases have previously been reported in Italy and Spain. Dr. Hanabusa said that the technology may allow more HIV-positive men to conceive safely (Agence France-Press, 11/16).
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