Medically assisted procreation and transmission of hepatitis C virus: absence of HCV RNA in purified sperm fraction in HIV co-infected patients.

Objective: The risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission in medically assisted procreation (MAP) is debated and some researchers have proposed to exclude MAP for HCV-positive infertile patients. The objectives of this study were to assess the presence of viral RNA in the final preparation of density gradient semen fractions collected from men with chronic HCV and HIV co-infection participating in a MAP program, and to assess whether HIV co-infection influences the rate of the presence of HCV RNA in the semen.

Design And Methods: The study was based on a cohort of 170 HCV-infected male patients (93 HIV co-infected) participating in a MAP program in a French center.