An Italian researcher, Dr. A.E. Semprini of Milan, pioneered the practice and reports that he has helped to conceive hundreds of babies in the past decade. But mistakes have made physicians in the United States cautious. Doctors have learned a lot since then, Morshedi said. He uses much safer techniques than were available a decade ago, and he hopes that the CDC and ASRM will re-evaluate their recommendation based on the improved technology. Some scientists worry about the risk of transmitting HIV to other embryos in a laboratory, Ory said.
Many doctors feel caught in the middle.
Sauer of Columbia University, however, believes strongly that couples should have access to technologies such as sperm isolation. But they live with the virus every day. They know what they are doing. Morshedi also feels compelled to help the couples, in part because they might try to have a baby on their own if he turned them down. Risk-taking is part of human nature.