Patients with HIV
The development of antiretroviral treatments has led to a radical change in the life expectancy and quality of life of men and women infected with HIV who can access these drugs. As a result, couples where one or both partners are infected can look at parenting as a realistic option.
The real issue now is how they can have a family safely without putting their uninfected partner or future child at risk of infection.
Assisted reproductive techniques such as sperm washing can virtually eliminate the presence of HIV in semen, allowing men infected with HIV to parent safely.
In positive women, closely supervised medical care during pregnancy and careful use of antiretrovirals during the later stages of pregnancy and childbirth together with the avoidance of breastfeeding can reduce the risk of a positive mother infecting her child to below 1%.
The majority of individuals infected with HIV are at a childbearing age, and their desire of parenthood is psychologically and biologically sound. However, conception attempts may involve the risk of HIV transmission to the uninfected partner and/or the unborn child.
People living with HIV may require reproductive advise and assistance in order to limit the risk of sexual or vertical transmission, or to overcome an infertility problem.
Unfortunately the lack of treatment centres offering reproductive counselling and assistance to couples with HIV does not satisfy the information and service needs of people living with HIV worldwide.
CREAThE - Centres for REproductive Assistance Techniues in hiv in Europe, is a non profit association committed to improving the quality and availability of safer conception options to couples affected by HIV and/or other transmissible infections who wish to become parents.
