Transmission of Sexually Transmitted Diseases by Donor Semen

Therapeutic insemination by donor (TID) is being used with increasing frequency. Because many diseases, some of which are lethal, can be transmitted through semen, the American Fertility Society established guidelines for use of donor sperm. They limit TID to cases of male infertility or hereditary/ genetic disorders. Donor selection requires good health and absence of genetic abnormalities; criteria for semen including normal sperm motility, concentration, and normal morphology, and blood screening for infectious agents. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing should be performed initially in donors for fresh semen inseminations. If positive, the assay is verified with a Western blot test; if negative, the donor should be screened at 6-month intervals. Frozen samples should not be used until the 180 day reevaluation of the donor. Many studies show higher pregnancy rates using fresh rather than frozen semen samples for insemination. New methods of cryopreservation minimize the deleterious effects of freezing. If these effects, namely decreased sperm motility and impaired penetration ability, are eliminated, pregnancy rates can be expected to rise. Frozen semen is preferable because it allows time for sexually transmitted diseases to manifest themselves and for specimens from those donors to be rejected prior to use.