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Human Reproduction, Vol. 17, No. 10, 2650-2653, October 2002
© 2002 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Pregnancy after safe IVF with hepatitis C virus RNA-positive sperm

Case report

R. Levy1,4, T. Bourlet2, A. Maertens2, B. Salle3, J. Lornage3, J.L. Laurent1, B. Pozzetto2 and J.F. Guerin3

1 Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction and 2 Laboratoire de Virologie, Hôpital Nord, Saint-Etienne, 42055 and 3 Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, 8, Avenue Rockefeller, 69373 Lyon Cedex 08, France

In France, assisted reproductive technology (ART) for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients is now subject to strict control after the publication of recent guidelines. Infertile serodiscordant couples (HCV-viraemic men and their seronegative female partners) require special care to carried out in designated ‘viral risk’ laboratories. Twelve sequential semen samples taken from an HCV chronically infected patient were analysed within 22 months. HCV RNA was detected in all the seminal plasma sampled before antiviral treatment with relatively high viral loads, and in two of the corresponding fractions of motile sperm obtained after a gradient selection, suggesting that a contamination risk by HCV through ART cannot be excluded. When the selection of sperm on a discontinuous gradient was followed by an additional swim-up step, HCV RNA was never detected in the motile sperm suspension that was frozen in highly secure straws. IVF was performed using cryopreserved sperm that tested negative for HCV RNA, resulting in a pregnancy. One month after embryo transfer, testing for HCV RNA and antibodies in the woman gave negative results.

Key words: ART/HCV RNA/semen/sperm

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rachel.levy{at}chu-st-etienne.fr


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