Posted on 05/18/2003 1:39:41 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
KOLKATA: A childless couple's quest for a baby has ended in the hopeful mother contracting HIV.
In what is being termed by doctors as Asia's first case of HIV from artificial insemination, a woman fertilised with sperm from an unknown donor has contracted the dreaded virus.
The woman discovered she was carrying the virus when she underwent a medical examination in August 2002 as directed by an NGO from which she wanted to adopt the child.
The woman and her husband approached the adoption agency after six attempts at artificial insemination since 1997 failed.
The case has stunned doctors of the School of Tropical Medicine (STM) here, but they say similar instances have been reported from the US, Australia, Canada and Italy.
"This is a shocking case, but not unprecedented. However, we have found out that this is the first of its kind in Asia," Dhrubo Neogi, head of the state-run STM's virology department, said.
"There is every chance of the woman becoming a full-blown AIDS case for no fault of hers," Neogi said.
The woman's identity is being closely guarded and Neogi would only say she was a 35-year-old from a well-to-do family in Kolkata.
The woman and her husband, after realising their incapability to produce an offspring, had visited at least three private infertility treatment clinics, where they were told artificial insemination was their only option.
The woman, whose husband suffered from oligosperia or low sperm count, underwent artificial insemination six times in the three infertility clinics since 1997.
"In August 2002, after all attempts to get pregnant failed, she went to an NGO to adopt a baby. As a matter of rule, the couple was asked to undergo some medical tests. It was then that the woman was diagnosed as HIV positive while her husband turned out HIV negative," Neogi said.
The shocked patient was then referred to the STM, where Neogi and his team of doctors are now treating her.
He said that chances of the woman having contracted the HIV virus other than from the artificial insemination is being ruled out because neither had she undergone blood transfusion nor did she belong to the high-risk group.
Even blood tests carried out on the couple before the insemination process had showed both partners as HIV negative.
The shocking case was first reported in the January issue of the Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology, but had so far escaped the notice of the media.
It is turning out that the woman had actually fallen prey to medical negligence because the infected semen she was injected with had apparently not been "processed".
Neogi said that a sperm bank had to generally test the blood of a donor and "cryofreeze" the sperm for six months, after which it had to be tested again, and only then used for artificial insemination.
He hinted that one or more of the sperm banks the woman had visited had not followed laid down procedures.
Neogi refused to reveal the names of the infertility clinics the couple had gone to or the sperm banks that had supplied the victim with sperm.
How dare you insult our fine ex-president, Sick Willie Clintooon?
Except it's a sink, not a cup.
"Old Sink-Stain", we call him. ;)
As in "Black Hole of Kolkata"?
But not worthy of reporting in the western media?
There's no reason for kids to end up in trash dumpsters or pails..
Someone, somewhere who is unable to conceive would be very happy to care for those children.
Perhaps she underwent a little "amateur" artificial insemination at some point?
Very doubtful. This kind of story would be like a gift from above to the US media. Look at all the publicity Ryan White got. They love, “innocent victim of AIDS” stories.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.