Can I use both egg donor and sperm donor for my surrogacy journey?

Donation programs have a long tradition. Egg and sperm donation programs were introduced into clinical practice from the very beginning and because of their results, they belong to the most successful methods.

Treatment using donor eggs is intended for couples where pregnancy cannot be achieved from the patient’s own eggs, or for LGBT couples or singles.

A cycle with the donation of eggs is suitable for couples where the woman does not produce her own eggs or is not of sufficient quality. Additionally for LGBT couples or single men and women. Indications for this type of treatment are:

• Absence of the ovaries
• Premature failure of the ovaries – e.g. for unknown reasons, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy
• A very low number of oocytes, low-quality oocytes, and repeated failure of fertilization, cleavage, and implantation using their own oocytes
• Severe forms of ovarian endometriosis
• Genetic indications – unsolvable using preimplantation genetic diagnosis
• LGBT male couple
• LGBT female couple if none of the women can produce good quality eggs
• Single men
• Single women if they cannot produce enough good quality eggs

The regulations for the mentioned indications and the local laws vary greatly from country to country, please check with us before you make any decision on your own.

If you have any of the mentioned indications and you are interested in receiving donated eggs, the clinic starts an examination of yourself and your partner (if any) and also starts the selection of a suitable donor. Usually, clinics have a large database of donors, thanks to which you can choose a suitable donor, with no waiting periods.

 

 

After finding a suitable donor, the recipient is contacted and prepared for an embryo transfer. The donor’s eggs are fertilized by the recipient partner‘s sperm (or donor sperm). One embryo is transferred into the recipient’s uterus. Both fresh and frozen embryo transfers are available. The remaining good-quality embryos are frozen (vitrified), and stored for further treatment.

A donor at the clinic must meet the following requirements:

• age 18-33 years
• at least secondary education
• good health
• BMI index in the standard
• non-smoker
• regular menstruation
• without hereditary or psychiatric diseases
• absence of sexually transmitted diseases
• no history of drug addiction
• without a history of infertility

A suitable donor is carefully selected. Only those women who meet strict criteria and pass all the examinations are included in the database. Usual tests include a pre-gynaecological and ultrasound examination, hormonal profile, genetic tests (karyotype, CFTR, SMA, FRAXA) and an interview with a clinical geneticist. Clinics also repeatedly perform tests for the presence of sexually transmitted diseases (HIV, Syphilis, hepatitis, chlamydia, cytomegalovirus).

In addition, this is also well respected:

• Blood group and Rh factor of donor and recipient
• Outside physiognomic features and the overall similarities between donors and recipients

A sperm donation program is also available at all the clinics. Local patients can choose from the clinic’s own sperm donor database or we can help with choosing the sperm bank. Sperm banks have huge databases of medically and genetically tested sperm donors.

The bank runs tests to determine sperm quality and the ability of the sperm cells to survive freezing and thawing. The bank looks into diseases that have affected the sperm donor’s family going back three generations. The purpose of this examination is to ensure that there’s no history of serious hereditary diseases.

The sperm donor receives counselling about what it means to be a donor. This includes ID release vs. No ID release donor status.

Another sperm sample is examined. The sperm quality and the ability of the cells to survive freezing and thawing are tested once again.

The doctors carry out a thorough health check to ensure that the donor is in good health, does not present any abnormalities, and is not suffering from any hereditary diseases.

Blood and urine samples are collected and tested for infectious diseases and genetically recessive diseases. In addition, a chromosome analysis is carried out. The results are evaluated and approved by a geneticist.

The sperm donor does a personality test, the result of which is then included on his profile. The sperm donor receives further counselling, records an audio interview, and writes a handwritten note.

All sperm donors are tested regularly while donating. In spite of the thorough screening method, it is not possible to fully eliminate the risk of transferring a genetic/hereditary disease. The marginal risk can be reduced further if the woman undergoes a genetic test as well.

 

SUMMARY

Heterosexual couples

Egg donation and sperm donation are very common in most countries, however, the regulations with the anonymity of the donor vary. If also the egg donor and sperm donor are used, we can it a donor embryo. Only a healthy uterus of the female partner is necessary to carry the baby and give birth. If the female partner cannot carry the baby, we can help choose a surrogacy program based on the legal criteria, preferences of the couple, budget, preferred location, etc.

Same-sex / LGBT couples

For same-sex male partners, it is necessary to use an egg donor. Rarely is a sperm donor used if none of the male partners has enough good-quality sperm. For LGBT male couples there are no other options than to use a surrogate mother to carry the baby and give birth to their child/ren. We can help choose a surrogacy program based on the legal criteria, preferences of the couple, budget, preferred location, etc.

For same-sex female partners, a sperm donor must be used to have the eggs fertilized. Mostly one of the female partners is willing to undergo hormonal stimulation and egg retrieval with the following fertilization using the donor sperm. If none of the female partners can produce their own eggs, egg donation is necessary as well as sperm donation. And, if none of the female partners can carry the baby, we can help choose a surrogacy program based on the legal criteria. preferences of the couple, budget, preferred location, etc.

Single men and women

For a single man, it is necessary to use an egg donor. Rarely a sperm donor is used if the male does not have enough good quality sperm. For single men, there are no other options than to use a surrogate mother to carry the baby and give birth to his child/ren. We can help to choose a surrogacy program based on the legal criteria, his preferences, budget, preferred location, etc.

For a single woman, a sperm donor must be used to have the eggs fertilized. If the woman cannot produce her own eggs, egg donation is necessary as well as sperm donation. And, if the woman also cannot carry the baby, we can help choose a surrogacy program based on the legal criteria, her preferences, budget, preferred location, etc.