Egg or sperm donation
If, for whatever reason, a man does not produce any sperm, or enough of good quality,
or a woman does not produce any eggs, then assisted conception using donor gametes (eggs
or sperm) offers the couple a chance of conceiving. Using donated eggs may also be advised
for women in their forties who have a very small chance of success conceiving with IVF
using their own eggs. (However, be aware that there is a national shortage of egg donors;
all of the clinics offering this treatment across the country have couples on their
waiting lists.)
Except where donation is intentionally between people known to each other, all
donations in the UK are regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
(HFEA) and all donations are anonymous. If someone donates sperm or eggs to a couple for
fertility treatment, neither the couple nor any resulting child will ever know who the
donor is. The donor will be the ‘genetic’ parent of any child, but the couple
themselves will be the ‘legal’ parents. Donors have no legal relationship with
or any continuing responsibility to any children born from their donation.
Clinics record details of a donor’s physical appearance – such as hair, skin or
eye colour, as well as height, build and blood group – and then usually try to match these
physical characteristics with those of the male or female partner whose sperm or eggs are
to be replaced.
If a couple decide to have DI, or IVF using donor eggs, there will be moral,
philosophical and possibly religious aspects which they will need to consider, think
through and accept. This is one reason why the HFEA insists that all couples contemplating
the use of donor eggs or sperm are offered counselling. It is important, if either partner
has doubts about what is involved, that couples take time to explore these issues before
beginning treatment.
Insemination using donor semen (DI) is a tried-and-tested method of treatment; in the
UK, there are approximately 800 such births each year. The way DI is carried out varies;
some clinics recommend the use of drugs to ensure that the woman is ovulating, others
prefer to rely on the natural cycle and the use of ovulation predictor kits. The number of
inseminations carried out in each cycle can also vary, as can the method used – the sperm
can be put into the vagina, the cervix or the uterus.
Egg donation is more complex. Women donating eggs need to go through the process of
ovarian stimulation and egg collection. At the same time, the recipient’s body must
itself be hormonally prepared for pregnancy. The process has to be timed and co-ordinated
so that on the day when the eggs are collected from the donor, the man provides the semen
so that the eggs can be mixed with the sperm and fertilisation can take place.
As with IVF, the embryos will then be placed in the recipient’s uterus using a
fine catheter. She will need to take progesterone supplements until a pregnancy test can
be done (about fourteen days later) and, if she is pregnant, these will continue for
several more weeks.
Even if everything goes well physically and hormonally, a treatment cycle involving
donated eggs or sperm involves complex emotions. For parents with children conceived by DI
or through egg donation, a major issue is whether or not to tell the child about their
origins, or other family members, or friends. This is something couples need to think
through carefully before beginning treatment.
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