SEMEN DONORS AND STD SCREENING

Aim: The British Andrology Society recommends screening semen donors f or sexually transmitted infections to minimise the risk of pathogen tr ansmission to the mother and fetus. The aim was to review recent findi ngs of semen donor screening and, if appropriate, recommend changes to the screening protocol. Subjects: 175 consecutive men attending for S TD screening between January 1992 and December 1995 who had been prese lected by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology as suitable sem en donors. Methods: Retrospective review of case notes and group compa rison of demographic and sexual history data. Results: 11 men (6%) had evidence of infection, excluding CMV seropositivity, at their first S TD screen. After semen donation, 109 men (63%) were rescreened and, of these, 12% had positive findings. Positive findings at initial screen ing were predicted by a history of more than one partner in the preced ing 6 months (OR 7.11, 95% CI 1.66-30.4) but it did not predict rescre ening findings. Other factors such as age, marital status, employment status or past STDs were not predictive for either screen. Discussion: Less than 20% of initial volunteers meet the full criteria of high qu ality post-thaw semen, no transmissible genetic disorders, and no tran smissible pathogens. Sexual history may predict but would not alone pr eclude all positive STD screening findings. It is essential that seque ntial STD screening of donors continues and that genitourinary physici ans should be involved in this process. Validation of newer diagnostic techniques as screening tests in this setting is required.