Is there a real risk of transmitting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by donor sperm insemination?

TitleIs there a real risk of transmitting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease by donor sperm insemination?
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2006
AuthorsMortimer D, Barratt CL
JournalReprod Biomed Online
Volume13
Issue6
Pagination778 - 90
Date PublishedDec
ISSN1472-6483 (Print) 1472-6483 (Linking)
Accession Number17169195
Keywords*Spermatozoa, *Tissue Donors, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / epidemiology / prevention & control / *transmission, Expert Testimony, Female, Great Britain / epidemiology, Humans, Insemination, Artificial, Heterologous / *adverse effects, Male, Questionnaires, Risk Assessment, Risk Factors, United States / epidemiology
Abstract

Although >99% of cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) are caused by spontaneous or inherited mutations in the prion protein, 'variant' CJD (vCJD) arose from dietary exposure to meat products infected with the bovine spongiform encephalopathy prion. While European and Canadian sperm donor candidates are rejected for significant CJD risk factors, American sperm donors are managed like blood donors (excluding all men who spent > or =3 months in the UK during 1980-1996 or > or =5 years in Europe since 1980), even though no evidence exists for sexual transmission of prion disease. This study surveyed international experts on either prions/prion disease or donor sperm/cryobanking as to the risk of vCJD transmission via semen/donor spermatozoa (45/104 replied). Consensus expert opinion was that the risk of transmission was

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