Migden to help HIV-postive men conceive

By Elizabeth Daley, Bay City News Service

March 4, 2007

In an attempt to reduce the likelihood of HIV transmission during conception, Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, announced Friday the introduction of a bill that would allow HIV positive men to receive assisted reproduction under certain guidelines.

According to Migden, studies show sperm washing substantially reduces the chance of HIV transmission from donor to recipient. Dr. Deborah Cohan at the University of California at San Francisco said there was not a single transmission of HIV in over 3,800 procedures conducted using the technology.

However, a California law forbidding insemination of bodily tissue with sperm from a man who is HIV-positive denies HIV-positive men this option, according to Migden.

"All families deserve access to the tools that reproductive science has to offer," said Migden in a statement. "In this case, California law needs to catch up with technology because, whether inadvertent or not, it discriminates against HIV-positive men."

Migden said California and Delaware were the only states barring the insemination procedure, and that the California law under which it is banned was initially created to protect patients receiving organ and tissue transplants.

"I am thrilled at the prospect of being able to offer my patients a safe method of conceiving," said Cohan, Medical Director of the Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center.

"With this important bill we will be able to offer them a safe way of building healthy families," Cohan said.

Copyright © 2007 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####