- The Tyler Medical Clinic Press -

The High Cost of Conception

What if a couple had to pay $1200.00 whenever they tried to conceive a child?

That is precisely the position in which couples that have trouble conceiving by natural means are finding themselves. A state law that is now part of California Health & Safety Code 1644.5 mandates that no tissue can be transferred into the body of another person unless the donor has been screened and found non-reactive by laboratory tests for evidence of HIV infection, viral hepatitis, HTLV-1, and syphilis. The validity and reasoning for this law have been questioned by infertility specialists since its passage.

According to Jaroslav J. Marik, M.D., medical director of the renowned Tyler Medical Clinic in Los Angeles, imposing this requirement on a married couple is complete nonsense. The intention of the law may be appropriate in cases of organ transplants or when introducing the sperm of an unknown donor into the female partner of a sterile male. But even in cases of donor insemination, the law is about 10 years too late, as HIV testing has become standard in California since it was introduced in the mid-1980's. For the purpose of using a husband's sperm for insemination, the law is clearly unnecessary.

A striking example of the impact this statute can have recently came to light when a young man working as a bartender was attacked and killed in a nightclub parking lot on his way home from work. The man and his wife had been trying unsuccessfully to have a child. The young woman had lost not only her husband but also any hopes of having his child as well. A relative with a medical background suggested that an infertility specialist try to retrieve semen from the husband at the coroner's office. The necessary contacts were made and permission was granted to collect sperm with the cooperation of the County Coroner's physicians. The semen was frozen and stored in a sperm bank for future use.

The wife decided on an insemination procedure in which her husband's sperm would be injected directly into her oocytes. After all of the preparations had been made, the laboratory that was to perform the procedure refused to proceed without the government-required tests. By a stroke of luck, the coroner's office had drawn blood from the deceased because of an intradepartmental investigation, and the required tests were subsequently conducted. Otherwise, the wife would have been legally barred from following through on her wish to have her husband's child. The law, however, remains on the books.

"This statute has to change," insists Dr. Marik. "As it now stands, married couples are forced to pay approximately $1200.00 to be tested prior to undergoing an insemination procedure conducted by their infertility specialist. Any physician or laboratory that performs insemination without the mandated tests can lose their license."

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