Non-sexual modes of HIV transmission: HIV status of sperm donors

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

In continuation with the posting referred to the above theme let me

also relate a similar incident that i came across very recently and

are trying to put things together:

A srilankan woman aged 48 years with her husband, was down in india

very recently from Geneva where the latter is working. They came down to India

on a tourist visa. They had no children and visited a local infertility

treatment clinic in Chennai on a hear say basis.

The woman (victim) had a very low educational background, was naive, a

foreigner with only a limited period of visa (6months only).

It was also noted that she had an embryo transfer where in the sperm

inserted was from an out side donor. After all the tests conducted the doctors

have given in writting that she has only 10 -15% chances for going through the

fertility treatment. She was only 40kg while she was taking the treatment

meaning to say she was weak.

How ever after spending nealry 1,75,000/- with the clinic/hospital

within a period of only 2 months or so the following interactions and incidents

happened as related by the patient:

1. She had the embryo transfer on October 4th 2006, from an outside

sperm donor, but kept confedencial due to ethical reasons of the

morality attahed. How ever she was given a test for HIV assesment,

without a pre and a post test counseling where in luckily she was HIV negative

and the worst situation was that she had been denied the rights to know the

status of the donor. How could this be ethical?

This appears as if she had spent 1,75,000 to recieve HIV, in case she would have

been identified to have got the sperms from a donor? How do we tackle such

situatiions?

2. She had been under the impression that she was pregnant, while she hits hard

that it was said so and a letter had been given to her dated 6th october 2006,

that her clinical status of pregnancy would only be revealed on the 19th of

october 2006, while she went for a letter of request from the hospital for

renewing her visa, a letter was given on the same date october 6th 2006, that

she was clinically negative.

How could the hospital give two letters of opposite characters? The

husband left India, keeping his wife under the custody of a guardian

thinking that she is pregnant. While the vicitm went for the letter of request

for the visa extension, to the same hospital it was then that they questioned

her as to how could she assume that she was pregnant while she was not so. the

vicitm broke down for two reasons one being for the fact that she was duped with

this entire episode and the other being that she had no moral or physical

support.

3. In the event of her visa getting over, the immigration has asked

her to produce a letter from the local police station that there were no

negative repercussions against her for the time she was living in India. The

police refused to give her a letter in the event that she had not registered

with them being a srilankan, where as sources say that tourist visas do not need

registrations.

What we percieve:

1. It is an eyeopener while we were thinking of the traditional ways

of HIV transmission there could be other non sexual methods of HIV

transmission especially under such circumstances where in sperm donors are

usually the rick shaw wallas, auto drivers etc. who does it commercially.

2. The vicitm of the above case now is helpless not knowing how to

leave the country?

What we are doing as an organisation (SFDRT):

1. We are interacting with the high officials of the police to take

the case up at two levels one being a cheating case against the

hospital, and the other taking the local police into task for having

failed to guide a woman in distress;

2. The case taken to the counsumer court for having duped and

exploited the case for the purpose of illegal earnings.

3. To rake the problems associated with the ethical information on

situation of HIV, for the donee to know of the status of the donor in this case

not being informed. Under the circumstances of only 15%

chances of success why was the vicitm been forced to undergo the

fertility treatment? She has also been forced to go through the

treatment again if she wanted a letter for visa extension.

While this situation is new to us we are taking legal guidances, how

ever i was interested in sharing this new experince of ours with

others and we welcome your suggestions under this context.

With warm regards

Shayamla Ashok

SFDRT

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