Viral Illness
Patients infected with HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C need to receive their fertility treatment in a centre with specialised laboratory facilities. We do not currently have such facilities on site at the Agora but we do see patients with viral illness and carry out all the necessary consultations, investigations and monitoring required. Dr Gilling-Smith has a special interest in this area and leads the Viral Illness Fertility Program at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London, which is currently the only IVF centre in the UK offering a dedicated fertility service to infected men and women. When the man is infected with HIV or hepatitis C the risk of viral transmission to his partner and future child can be virtually removed by the technique of sperm washing. There are no specialised assisted conception techniques to reduce transmission risk to the child in women infected with HIV, which is estimated to be below 1%. This is only achieved through careful antenatal supervision and with the use of antiviral medication during pregnancy and delivery and the avoidance of breast feeding.
|
