Is donor conception for me?

Using donated sperm, eggs or embryos is a major decision and you should take your time to think about whether it’s right for you. You may want to discuss your feelings with friends, family or a professional counsellor before going ahead. A clinic is likely to recommend donor conception if:

• You’re not producing eggs or sperm of your own
• Your sperm or eggs are unlikely to result in a pregnancy
• You have a high risk of passing on an inherited disease
• You’re in the same-sex couple, or
• You’re single.

What is donor egg IVF?

Where a woman has poor quality few eggs or she is incapable of producing eggs because of premature menopause, or there is a substantial risk of passing on a hereditary disease, it may be possible to obtain eggs from a donor, and these can be fertilised with your partner’s sperm and embryo is placed in the womb.

How does the donor egg IVF treatment work?

Donor: donor woman will go through a cycle of stimulation and egg collection. Eggs are collected and fertilized with your parker’s sperms in the laboratory. Recipient: Your womb is prepared simultaneously using hormones to be ready for the embryo. In some cases, it is difficult of synchronising the egg collection and the preparation of the recipient woman, embryos could be frozen and stored so that they may be placed in the uterus at the optimum time.

What are the rules regarding donor identity in the UK?

You will not get any donor identifiable details. You will receive the match form with various characteristics to choose a donor from. All donors used now in the UK are identifiable, people aged 16+ (if contemplating marriage) or 18, who ask the HFEA, will be told whether or not they were born as a result of licensed donor assisted conception treatment, and if so, whether they are related to the person they want to marry. Also, they will now be able, on reaching the age of 18, to learn the identity of the donor or donors, if conceived after 1st April 2005.

What can I find out about a potential donor?

If you use a donor through your fertility clinic you’ll be able to find out:

• a physical description (height, weight, eye and hair colour)
• the year and country of birth
• their ethnicity
• whether they had any children at the time of donation, how many and their gender
• their marital status
• their medical history
• A personal description and goodwill message to any potential children (if they chose to write one at the time of their donation).

What can my children find out about their donor or donor-related siblings?

It’s natural for some people who have been conceived with the help of a donor to want to know about their donor or siblings. They might want to see what characteristics they’ve inherited from their donor, or what similarities they share with their siblings. When your child reaches 16, they’ll be able to find out the same information that you can find out about a potential donor at the time of the donation. When they’re 18 they can find out their donor’s name, date of birth and last known address and it’s up to them if they want to try and get in touch.

Does the donor have any rights to children conceived from their donation?

If you’re having treatment at a licensed fertility clinic in the UK, your donor will have no legal rights or responsibilities to any children born with their sperm, eggs or embryos. This means:

• They will have no legal obligation to any children conceived from their donation.
• They won’t be named on the birth certificate.
• They won’t have any rights over how the child will be brought up.
• They won’t be required to support the child financially.

Why there is a waiting time for donor eggs?

It is much more difficult to obtain donated eggs than sperm because the donor has to undergo the complete process of IVF except for the embryo transfer, entirely for the benefit of someone else. It is legally permissible to use eggs supplied by a donor known to the recipient, but that has the potential to cause serious psychological and social problems for all concerned, including resulting children, and the policy of the Fertility Centre is generally to use anonymous donors where possible. All donors are health-screened according to HFEA Regulations, including an HIV test, but the risk of HIV transmission is very remote, and it is not legally required to quarantine the embryos in the same way as donor sperm. This can, however, be achieved by storing the embryos and re-testing the donor before transfer. Ethnic minority donors are rare. Therefore, waiting list for them could be longer.

What are the chances of success using donor egg IVF?

The chance of success using donor eggs depends largely on the age of the donor, and only women under the age of 36 years are accepted as donors. Therefore, it has very good chances of success. The national data showed

Are there any risks from using donated sperm, eggs or embryos?

If you use a donor through a licensed UK fertility clinic there are very few risks. Your donor’s family history will be checked to make sure they don’t have any serious genetic diseases that could be passed onto any children you conceive. They’ll also be checked for infections including HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and gonorrhoea. If you’re using a donation from someone you know, but are still having treatment at a clinic, they’ll go through all the same checks.

What is Egg Sharing?

Women who are themselves undergoing IVF, and who can be expected to produce a good number of eggs, may elect to donate some for the treatment of others, subject to health screening and counselling. Treatment may be available at a much-reduced cost for suitable donors, and full details of this scheme are available on request.

What is Sperm Sharing?

Sperm sharing is the procedure whereby the male partner provides sperm samples for freezing up to a maximum of 100 ampoules for donation to other patients. In return, the female partner receives one cycle of IVF or up to 6 cycles of Intra-Uterine Insemination at a reduced cost. It will, however, delay the start of your treatment by about 5 months. Anyone between 18-40 years of age can be considered for sperm sharing. However, we have to undertake tests to screen sperm sharers, to ensure that More information on donor egg /sperm/embryo conception https://seedtrust.org.uk/