CMV Total Antibody Question

catlover

Hello…I am in the process of selecting a few top donors but have a CMV question.

What does "Positive (IgG/IgM Negative)" mean versus it saying just "Positive"?

I don't know what my CMV status is and therefore not sure if I should be looking at positive or negative CMV but my doctor did not seem to have any worry about either case. I do know i am RH-, but even with that he isn't concerned because if i pick a RH+ donor, he'll give me the Rhogam shot.

But this CMV business is a little confusing to me…please help.

Thanks!

Sweettheartt

I can't speak that intelligently on the subject but I will give you my layman's knowledge. CMV is in the herpes family of disease but it manifests as a flu type illness. If a pregnant woman gets it the fetus can have a lot of health problems including deafness and I believe brain function and other issues. It is almost unheard of to have a donor pass it on because of the way donors are tested to make sure it's not active, however it is not totally impossible either which is why the government requires disclosure. Anyone who is CMV positive has already been exposed and it doesn't matter which donor they choose. There are some doctors who are adamant with their CMV negative patients that they need to choose a CMV negative donor. One of my doctors didn't feel it mattered while my other doctor did since I am CMV negative so I decided to play it safe with a CMV neg donor. But to answer your question it is my understanding when they phrase it like you stated above it was a false positive and the donor is really negative. My donor fell into that category.

puppup613

I'm curious about this as well. When I look it up online it says:

A negative cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgM results suggest that the patient is not experiencing a recent infection. However, a negative result does not rule out primary CMV infection.

Don't all donors have to not have an active/recent infection to be eligible donors? Very confusing. I'm dealing with this now too. I was certain I was CMV positive based on past medical history but my blood test came up that I'm CMV negative. My RE office is strongly urging me with scary info to choose a CMV negative donor. My OB told me it's not concerning and I could go either way. I'm torn because going with negative donors really limits the playing field.

catlover

Thank you so much for responding!!!! I was starting to think no one was seeing my post. LOL

As if there isn't already enough to think about when choosing a donor…there seems to be more positive donors than negative...smh…thanks again!!!

Sweettheartt

You know the funny thing is when I looked through just the negative donors I found several I liked. Then I allowed myself to look through the positive ones. Turns out I really liked the negative regardless. I also didn't want to be worried the entire pregnancy. Even though the risk is very very small. Now that I'm pregnant I'm glad of my choice.

meremomtobe

I didn't understand this issue either, and when I went to my OB and talked about Donors and she was pretty conclusive that I should choose someone that is Negative. The donor that was my #1 choice is positive and also is anonymous, so I decided with her feedback that I should go with someone else since the only strike he had in my mind was the anonymity. Turns out he sold out in what seemed to be record breaking time, so that took that concern from my head. Now I'm being very strict with the Open and Negative CMV, which does totally restrict the pool!

There are some guys on here that when I listen to the audio file for them, I swoon! It's so funny to me to think "too bad I can't meet them in real life!"

Sweettheartt

I went with 13353 and he got me pregnant first shot. They rated him high on attractiveness and he is bright. He is blond hair blue eyes and tall. Open donor and considered negative. He had a false positive but he is really negative CMV. Great interview very outgoing and friendly. They say he is charismatic. Sperm count more than double what they advertise.

tffo

I'm CMV negative and my nurse wasn't so clear on just how vital she felt it was to choose a negative donor. I had been pretty set on negative at first, but then I realized that if I had a partner or known donor who was positive they would still inseminate me with no issue, and that in the real world most people don't ever know their status, but still have babies. I was still worried about a possible health risk, but my nurse said something that made me think. A positive donor only has the antibodies, not the virus (and I'm still not clear how it would turn up in washed sperm) but the bigger concern is catching it in the wild while pregnant. Which really is a scary thought!

So, I was set on an open donor and a negative one, and then I stumbled across my donor who was perfect and positive and I decided I liked him too much to not pick him (and I'm glad I did because he sold out in record time too!) If this were real life, I would not refuse to have a baby with my partner because of his cmv status. Hopefully I made the right choice!

catlover

tffo-

"but then I realized that if I had a partner or known donor who was positive they would still inseminate me with no issue, and that in the real world most people don't ever know their status, but still have babies."….

You are SO right, tffo!!! Before all of this i never even heard of CMV and as you said when you have a significant other, part of the getting to know each other process doesn't include "so tell me, what's your CMV status?".

You put a new spin on my thought process about this whole thing.

thisbearslair

I know this is an old post, but I was told that CMV status doesn't effect couples because you would have exchanged the virus through casual contact...so if one partner had it, he/she would expose the other to it. When it comes to artificial insemination (also very important in transplant patients) the trouble is that if your first exposure to CMV comes when you get pregnant it could effect your fetus. I know that CCB says that they do not know of any cases where CMV has been transmitted from a donor through insemination because they weed out any donors with current infection (IgM positive). That being said, I am CMV negative and I didn't want to take the chance....although my first choice was CMV positive, my doc urged me to pick a negative donor. We ended up finding one we really liked, but it definitely limits your choices. My wife and I joked about trying to get exposed to CMV at my daughters preschool before we tried for another child just so we could pick a positive donor, but it didn't happen. Good luck to everyone out there!!

tffo

Thisbearslair - I'm not sure what you mean when you say status doesn't effect couples? From my understanding, most people acquire CMV as children and so in adulthood only carry the antibodies. which means that in an adult relationship it's perfectly possible for one partner to be positive and the other to remain negative because there is nothing to pass on in casual contact. I can only assume this is how I am CMV negative despite having had serious relationships. I seriously doubt that everyone I ever kissed just happened to be CMV negative. So the risk to any partnership in which the woman carrying the baby is negative and their father is positive for the antibodies is the same except that those conceiving naturally don't have their sperm washed before it enters their bodies.

What I also don't know is how much of the antibodies are present in washed sperm? I've read that CMV status is not a concern in IVF because the sperm never enters the body. Do you know if that's true? If so it makes me think that the concern is only with active viruses and not with antibodies at all, which would mean CMV positive sperm should be safe. And i wonder would the fetus get the antibodies and then be safe from infection?

The biggest concern is catching CMV while pregnant, which can happen anywhere. That scares me most of all!