Skip Navigation



Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on April 7, 2005
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/deh828
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
20/6/1433    most recent
deh828v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gilling-Smith, C.
Right arrow Articles by Englert, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gilling-Smith, C.
Right arrow Articles by Englert, Y.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received April 19, 2004
Revised January 31, 2005
Accepted February 7, 2005

Opinion

Laboratory safety during assisted reproduction in patients with blood-borne viruses

Carole Gilling-Smith 1*, Serena Emiliani 2, Paula Almeida 1, Corinne Liesnard 3, and Yvon Englert 2

1 Assisted Conception Unit, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, 369 Fulham Road, London, SW10 9NH, UK
2 Fertility Clinic, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasme Hospital and Laboratory for Research in Human Reproduction, Medicine Faculty, Free University Brussels, Brussels, Belgium and
3 AIDS Reference Laboratory of the Free University of Brussels (ULB), Free University Brussels, Route de Lennik, 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Carole Gilling-Smith, E-mail: cgs{at}chelwest.nhs.uk


  Abstract

For couples where one or both partners are infected with human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis C, the doors to receiving fertility care are opening as a result of better antiviral medication, better long-term prognosis and consequent changes in attitude. In line with this, fertility centres electing to treat couples with blood-borne viral (BBV) infection need to re-examine their policies and procedures to ensure the safety of their staff and both non-infected and infected patients during assisted reproduction treatments. At a time when the European Tissue Directive aims to introduce quality standards for assisted reproduction throughout Europe, we highlight the risks involved when treating patients with known BBV infections and argue that safety cannot be met with any certainty unless samples from such patients are handled within a separate high security laboratory or laboratory area, technically adapted to ensure minimal cross-contamination risk to uninfected gametes and embryos.

Keywords: assisted reproduction; hepatitis; HIV; reproduction; safety.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
S. P.M. Lutgens, E. C.M. Nelissen, I. H.M. van Loo, G. H. Koek, J. G. Derhaag, and G. A.J. Dunselman
To do or not to do: IVF and ICSI in chronic hepatitis B virus carriers
Hum. Reprod., November 1, 2009; 24(11): 2676 - 2678.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ESHRE MonogrHome page
C. Huyser
Affordable ART services in Africa: synthesis and adaptation of laboratory services
ESHRE Monogr, July 1, 2008; 2008(1): 77 - 84.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.