General Information

Cytomegalovirus, or CMV, has been found in all populations and infects between 50% and 85% of adults in the United States by 40 years of age. For most healthy persons who acquire CMV after birth there are few symptoms and no long-term health consequences. Some people with symptoms experience a mononucleosis-like syndrome with prolonged fever and a mild hepatitis. Once a person becomes infected, the virus remains alive, but usually dormant within that person's body for life. Therefore, for the vast majority of people, CMV infection is not a serious problem.

What is it?

CMV is a member of the herpes virus family, which includes herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, Varicella-zoster virus (which causes chickenpox), and Epstein-Barr virus (which causes infectious mononucleosis). These viruses share a common ability to remain dormant within the body over a long period.

Infectious CMV may be shed in body fluids of any previously infected person, and thus may be found in urine, saliva, blood, tears, semen, and breast milk. It can also be transmitted sexually. The shedding of virus may take place intermittently, without any detectable signs and without causing symptoms.

CMV Infection in Pregnancy

The incidence of primary (or first) CMV infection in pregnant women in the United States varies from 1% to 3%. When infected with CMV, most women have no symptoms and very few have a disease resembling mononucleosis.  During a pregnancy when a woman who has never had CMV infection becomes infected with CMV, there is a        30-40 % chance of the fetus being infected.  While most babies infected are normal at birth, 10-15 % may have CMV-related complications, such as hearing loss, visual impairment, or diminished mental and motor capabilities. On the other hand, infants and children who acquire CMV after birth have few, if any, symptoms or complications.

Donor Sperm Selection

It is important to have the recipient’s CMV status determined prior to choosing the sperm donor in order to decrease the chances of an infant being affected by a primary CMV infection in the mother.  A female who has never been exposed to CMV does NOT have antibodies to CMV and should only use donor sperm from a donor who also has never contracted CMV. 

If the female has previously been infected by CMV and has the antibodies, she already has had the primary “infection” (remember, you may have had no symptoms or indiscrete symptoms) from CMV.  So any reactivation of the disease state has a very, very small chance of affecting the infant.  She may, therefore, use donor sperm from a donor who has also previously been infected by the CMV virus.

In summary, if the donor sperm recipient (female) is “CMV Positive” then the donor can either be “CMV Negative” or “CMV Positive”.

If a recipient is “CMV Negative”, then the sperm donor must also be “CMV Negative”.

Any questions you may have can be asked of your primary nurse or primary SRM physician.