Sperm conservation and HIV infection.

In the course of preparing a medico-legal report in civil proceedings instituted by a couple contaminated by HIV, the case of Mr B. was brought to our attention. At the end of 1984 Mr B. had a serious accident in consequence of which he received a number of blood transfusions. The post-transfusion inquiry established blood contamination. Several years later (in 1990), and for reasons closely related to the above accident, Mr B. and his wife were having difficulty in having a child. They decided to resort to intraconjugal artificial insemination (IAI) first through a private laboratory and then through a CSCOS (Centre for the Study and Conservation of Human Ova and Sperm). In 1992 Mr B. and his wife were both found to be HIV positive; the infection was ascribed to the IAI, as the most plausible cause. In the face of such dramatic events, we wondered why neither the laboratory nor the CSCOS had checked whether the couple were HIV positive. Reflecting on this led us: (a) to make an inventory of the different organizations and facilities empowered to manipulate sperm for medically assisted procreation (MAP); (b) to investigate their obligation in terms of the prevention and control of specific diseases.