The HIV-infected persons in Moldova will now have access to in vitro fertilization services. Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection Viorica Dumbrăveanu signed an order by which the ban on the use of in vitro fertilization by HIV-infected women and men is lifted, IPN reports.
The Association “Positive Initiative” said the ban was imposed in a period when there were no efficient methods for preventing the mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The problem was highlighted in 2018 during an analysis of the national legislation on HIV. In 2019, the NGO “Mothers for Life” reported a case when a HIV-infected woman was denied access to in vitro fertilization.
The two organizations made approaches to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, which, in December 2019, set up a working group that drafted the necessary amendments. As a result, in vitro fertilization became also accessible to HIV-infected persons in Moldova.
“The women living with HIV, besides all the fears related to their status, also go through a difficult self-stigmatization process. The fact that the health system in Moldova is not always on their side and tries to deprive them of the chance of having children does not help at all,” said the head of “Mothers for Life” Irina Belevtsova.
According to the National Center of Reproductive Health and Medical Genetics, 20% of the couples of a reproductive age in Moldova suffer from a form of infertility. For 2.5% of the women, in vitro fertilization can be the only possibility of having children.
