Why does sperm have to be stored for six months quarantine period?

The use of donor sperm is a regulated activity and without being registered for HFEA a center cannot offer such a service. Procuring sperm for the purposes of treatment requires the center to follow stringent method that satisfies scientific as well as ethical issues. The existence of a quarantine period is important for safe guarding against infections such as HIV or hepatitis B which have a long “incubation” period. However the NAT tests used advanced techniques of identifying the RNA/DNA components of viruses causing the above infections and thus are detectable very early in the blood, without having to wait for the incubation period. After an identified donor has given his last sperm donation sample, we wait for six months to do the final infection screening tests. The first infection screening test ahs happened when the donor first attends the clinic and has been counseled and founds the suitable for donation. If this test shows infection, the donor will not be used for the purpose of sperm donation. By repeating the tests six months after the final donation, we are assured that he was not in the incubation period when the samples are given. We can argue that most couples come together and even think of having babies do not subject each other such stringent scientific tests before agreeing to start a family. However the professional argument that such extra stringent diligence be shown wherein we have the opportunity to do so, when we have approached the problem in scientific manner rather than emotional manner, is the time effort and expense well worth. We couldn’t agree more. The nucleic acid tests (NAT) do not have to wait for the six months incubation period because a single test will be positive even if the prospective donor has been exposed to HIV or hepatitis B infection a few days prior. The circulating viruses and the nucleic acids are detectable by the NAT test which is highly sensitive. It doesn’t need the viruses then grow in the body and develop an immune response creating antibodies which is what normally gets checked in the standard screening tests. NAT tests are slightly more expensive but because they save the couples time, most couples will think it’s well worth the extra cost. Besides if the donor agrees to allow the center to use a sperm to treat other women, then the screening cost can be shared and thus the expense greatly reduced.