What Is “Sperm Washing” and How Does it Work?

Sperm washing is an amazing laboratory technique that’s often used during assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Sperm washing helps to separate healthy sperm (the male gamete necessary to create an embryo and eventually a baby) from other seminal fluid components and contaminants—and that allows fertility clinics to collect the healthiest sperm samples possible to create embryos.

How does sperm washing work?

There are several steps involved with sperm washing that help to collect healthy sperm and separate the gametes from the seminal fluid and other materials. First, the semen provider will provide his sample in a fertility clinic in a sterile environment. Technicians will then add a solution, called Human Tubal Fluid, that helps sperm begin to separate from seminal fluid. Then, the semen is placed into a centrifuge machine that spins the sample at a very high speed—this process helps to completely separate the sperm from seminal fluids that may contain viruses, bacteria, or other unwanted materials. After this process, your fertility clinic technician will be able to select individual sperm from your sample that is the healthiest—meaning they have the most ideal motility and morphology (i.e. movement and shape) for embryo creation. These sperm are washed yet again using another solution that will remove any remaining seminal fluid.

Can sperm washing help me become a biological parent if I’m HIV positive?

Yes! Thanks to sperm washing, if you are HIV positive, you can absolutely have your own biological child using surrogacy—without passing on the virus to either your baby or your surrogate. Sperm washing can also help eliminate the risk of transmitting other STIs, like gonorrhea and chlamydia, and other contaminants.  However, at the same time, you have to be aware that if you are HIV positive it is absolutely necessary to have corresponding medical treatment and virus load undetectable in the blood

Who will perform the sperm washing?

These days, most fertility clinics that specialize in advanced reproductive technologies should have the capability to help you perform your sperm washing—but to be on the safe side, before you select a fertility clinic, you should ensure this is in fact among the services they offer. The technicians in your fertility clinic will be highly trained and capable of carrying out this procedure. They will be required to comply with strict rules and regulations to ensure the sperm collected through sperm washing is in fact free from HIV or any other potential contaminants.

How safe is sperm washing?

Sperm washing is incredibly safe and effective! In practice, sperm washing completely eliminates the risk of HIV transmission to either the gestational surrogate or the child. Though there will be no way to fully eliminate the transmission risk, research in this area is very encouraging. In fact, one study of 914 serodiscordant couples found no instances of HIV infection among the women, or the resulting children conceived following the sperm-washing procedure! At the same time, UNAIDs developed a report where it is clearly described that Undetectable = untransmittable.

(https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2018/july/undetectable-untransmittable)

How long has sperm washing been around?

Sperm washing has been around for many years: in fact, the first time a child was born via sperm washing in the United States was in 1999. Read more about this breakthrough in this American Public Media article, Conceiving Ryan.