Donor Sperm Treatment

Reserving Donor Sperm

1. Patients are allowed to reserve donor sperm for two treatment cycles only (four ampoules for IUI/IVF, and two ampoules for ICSI).
2. Owing to reduced availability of donor sperm, patients may have a limited choice of donors, no choice (i.e. only one matching donor available), or be asked to postpone treatment until a suitable donor sperm becomes available.
3. We secure donor sperm and we would ask patients to enquire about extended storage; Use for sibling sperm and suggested quantity for further use.

Alternative Options

Patients who are prevented from undergoing treatment with donor sperm due to unavailability of donor sperm from the donor banks may wish to consider the following:

1. The use of a ‘known donor’ where sperm is donated from a person known to the patient(s). Having sufficient samples in storage for future siblings can also be planned in advance. All known donor sperm being used for treatment requires a six-month quarantine period before use. This process requires extensive times and investigations .
2. Import of donor sperm from another country where donors have registered as ‘identifiable’ and with application, these donor samples may be imported to our clinic. The process of importing donor sperm can take time.

Donor Egg Treatment

Donor egg treatment may be needed for women who produce too few eggs, very poor quality eggs, no eggs, or eggs which are genetically abnormal.

Surrogacy

Surrogacy is an arrangement by which one woman (the surrogate mother) bears a child for another woman or a couple (the intended parents or commissioning couple) and surrenders it at birth.

All patients considering surrogacy are strongly advised to seek legal advice. We do not proceed with any surrogacy treatments without appropriate legal advice being obtained by patients.

Counselling

We strongly recommend that all patients have implications counselling for themselves, their families and any children that may be born as a result. There can be emotional, relational, financial and social implications which counselling can help to explore so that patients can make well informed decisions about their treatment options.

Every recipient of sperm, egg or embryo donation, as well as patients undergoing surrogacy treatment, is required to see the counsellor for implications counselling. Patients wishing to undergo egg freezing with the view to using cryopreserved eggs for treatment in the future are also advised implications counselling.