Mad Cow Rules Hit Sperm Banks' Patrons

Tag : Gynecology Equipment

"I just cried," said Peterson, 43, who lives in North Carolina. "Iwas in complete shock. I hadn't thought about anything but havinganother baby with this donor. It was just so surprising andbewildering."
The sperm bank had run out of vials from Peterson's donor and couldnot replace them, because of restrictions health officials haveinstituted to protect Americans against the human form of mad cowdisease. Since May 2005, the United States has effectively barredsperm banks from importing from Europe for fear it might spread thebrain-ravaging pathogen that causes the affliction.
Now, as the remaining vials of Nordic semen frozen in U.S. spermbanks are running out, a small but desperate number of would-beparents are frantic. Peterson has flown repeatedly to Denmark, andwent again this week, to try to get pregnant with sperm from thesame donor. Others are going to Canada or Mexico, or haggling withother American women who have leftover vials.
"I think it's outrageous," said Laura, a Los Angeles lawyer whoasked that her last name be withheld to protect her privacy. Shedecided against paying a New York woman more than $2,000 for a fewvials from a donor she nicknamed "Sven," whom she used a few yearsago to conceive a son. A vial usually costs less than $500. "I'dlove to give him a full sibling. But I just couldn't do it. It's sounfortunate."
The restrictions on sperm from Europe were among the steps the U.S.government took in the wake of the mad cow outbreak in Europe inthe late 1990s. In rare cases, people who eat meat from infectedanimals develop the fatal, untreatable illness called variantCreutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The ailment is caused by an infectiousmutant protein that slowly eats away brain tissue. Some people havebeen infected through contaminated surgical equipment andtransplanted tissue, such as corneas, but there are no known casesof infection from sperm.
Before the restrictions went into effect, two sperm banks --California Cryobank in Los Angeles and Cryos International in NewYork City -- imported sperm from Denmark. The Nordic donors werepopular because of their blue eyes and blond hair, and theirtendency to be tall and have advanced degrees.
"The demand was huge," said Peter Bower of Nordic Cryobank ofCopenhagen, which had supplied California Cryobank. "In addition tobeing tall and well educated, their motivations for donation arequite sincere -- they want to help childless couples. They tendedto sell out very fast."
With California Cryobank's and Cryos's supplies virtually depleted,Nordic Cryobank filed a petition in June asking the Food and DrugAdministration to lift the restrictions.
"The risk is insignificant," Bower said. "There's a huge demand,and the FDA is essentially saying to these patients they can'tchoose the characteristics of the children they want, even thoughthere is absolutely no scientific evidence on their side."
Bower cites one study that concluded that getting mad cow diseasefrom sperm is far less likely than being killed by lightning.
"They say the risk is theoretically possible, but the risk is toosmall and too insignificant to even be described," he said.