Fall 2000                                         Volume 4, Issue 3

Sperm Washing For Men Who Want To Be Dads

contain or transmit HIV.

What is Sperm Washing?
Sperm washing is a procedure for separating sperm from seminal fluid.  Sperm washing has been used for years in fertility clinics and sperm banks to help men boost the potency of their sperm.  However, the use of sperm washing to reduce or eliminate transmission of infections like HIV to a mother or baby has only evolved over the last decade.

How is it Done?
Most labs or research projects use some form of the following method:

• First the semen and a more dense solution are mixed together.
  
• Next the sample is placed in a medical centrifuge (spinner) to separate the sperm from its surroundings.  Because of their different densities, the sperm, the seminal fluid and other cells separate into three distinct layers.
  
• Next a salt solution causes the most active sperm to swim to the surface, where they

(Continued on page 2)

by Moher Downing

As the health of HIV+ men on highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) has improved and more couples have become motivated to bear their own children, more people are seeking information and assistance to conceive in the safest manner possible. This article discusses one of the more controversial assisted reproductive technologies

How & Where is Sperm Made?

• Sperm is present in semen.
  
• Four organs produce semen.  They are the testes, epididymis, seminal vesicles and prostate.
  
• Semen contains seminal fluid, sperm cells and white blood cells, any of which could

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Sperm Washing for Men Who Want to be Dads   page 1
  CAB Corner   page 5
  Changes for Visit 13   page 6
  A New Protocol for Visit 13 .page 7
  Lucky Visit 13  page 8
 

This issue is sponsored, in part, by a donation from Roche Laboratories, Inc.