SPERM DONATION
WHAT IS SPERM DONATION?
Sperm donation is an application that allows couples with infertility problems due to male partners to reach pregnancy by using donor sperm. Although insemination with donor sperm (transfer of sperm into the uterus) has been practiced for more than a hundred years in the world, the first clinical study on this subject was published in 1945. In 1980, with the emergence of the HIV virus, donor sperm was applied only with frozen sperm obtained from donors who had undergone screening tests and completed the 6-month quarantine period.
In our center, only donor sperm samples taken from accredited sperm banks and all serological tests are used.
WHAT IS THE SPERM DONATION PROCESS?
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) – vaccination or in vitro fertilization (IVF) method can be used in sperm donation application. In line with the suitability of the female partner and the preference of the couple, it is decided which method will be used first.
In the IUI method, all of the donor sperm dissolved is released into the uterus of the female partner using a special catheter.
In the IVF method, the appropriate sperms are selected from the dissolved donor sperm sample and injected into the eggs obtained by ovarian stimulation from the female partner by microinjection (ICSI) method.
Since donor sperms with the necessary screening tests are used in sperm donation and the male partner is not included in the application, no medical preparation process is applied in the man.
The preparation process of the female partner is as follows
- Interview with the specialist physician: In this interview, your health history history will be taken, physical examination and necessary tests will be planned.
- Meeting with the coordinator: Your transportation and accommodation organizations will be planned at this meeting. Apart from medical issues, all the details of the treatment process will be discussed and your profile forms will be arranged. The selection of a sperm donor will also be determined at this stage.
- Psychological counseling: If couples wish, they can get counseling about their questions about the donation process and its aftermath and their social or psychological concerns.
- Application of tests: Relevant screening tests are requested for the woman.
- Ultrasonographic examination: It is applied to analyze the structure of the uterus. If necessary, hysteroscopic examination may be requested additionally.
- HSG (Hysterosalpingography): It is requested to evaluate the tubes as well as the structure of the uterus. Thus, processes that may prevent embryo implantation, such as hydrosalpinx, are evaluated.
- Introduction of drugs for ovarian stimulation
- Determining your control appointments to follow the development of your eggs during the treatment process (follicle follow-up)
- Egg collection and embryo culture: A cracking needle will be applied on the day determined by your physician according to follicle follow-up and egg collection will be applied after about 36 hours. The mature eggs collected in this process are microinjected with the donor sperms selected on the same day. The next day, fertilization control is performed and then the appropriate transfer day is planned by following the embryo development. In this process, our center is informed daily by the embryology laboratory about the status of your embryos.
- Embryo biopsy: If genetic diagnosis is planned in embryos and FISH method is preferred, biopsy is applied on the 3rd day to embryos that reach sufficient development level and quality and transfer can be performed in the same cycle. If the NPPS method is preferred, the embryos are frozen after the embryo biopsy process on the 5th day.
- Embryo transfer: In line with the quality of the developing embryos, it will be determined how many embryos will be transferred and the selected embryos will be transferred to your uterus. The transfer process is simple and short-lived (about 15 minutes). After a short rest after the procedure, you will be able to return to your daily life. If the embryos have been subjected to the FISH test for genetic diagnosis, the embryo transfer will be performed in the same month 2 days after the test, while if the embryos are frozen after the NGS test is performed, your embryo transfer will be performed the next month.
HOW ARE THE SPERMS USED IN SPERM DONATION SELECTED?
After thawing frozen sperm, a loss of vitality of around 20-30% is considered normal. This is largely due to the fact that the sperm sample contains a mixture of newly produced and previously produced sperm. Therefore, the part that remains alive mainly contains newly produced sperm. Since there are millions of sperm in donor sperm samples and only one sperm is used per egg, the possibility of problems in sperm donation is almost negligible. The important thing is to use the healthiest sperms among the existing sperms by selecting them with appropriate methods.
For this purpose, in our center, in addition to the morphological selection of sperm, the HOST method is preferred, which provides the selection of sperms with the healthiest DNA structure, that is, the lowest probability of DNA fragmentation.
WHO CAN APPLY FOR SPERM DONATION?
- Couples who do not have sperm production in the male partner, that is, who are diagnosed with azoospermia
- Couples who have experienced repeated unsuccessful IVF attempts due to insufficiency of sperm parameters (severe oligoastenoteratozoospermia)
- Couples experiencing sperm-induced fertilization failure
- Couples who have experienced unsuccessful IVF attempts due to severe sperm morphological defects (Megalo-head, Pin-head, immature sperm, centriole defects, etc.)
- Couples with the presence of hereditary genetic disease/carrier whose origin (gene mutation) cannot be determined in the male
- Single women who do not have a male partner and want to have children.
HOW IS THE SPERM DONOR SELECTED?
For the sperm to be used in the donation, a donor that resembles a male partner in terms of physical characteristics is selected among the blood group compatible returns. All donor sperms are obtained from accredited sperm banks abroad in accordance with the relevant law.
WHAT IS THE SUCCESS RATE IN SPERM DONATION?
In our center, high quality donor sperms obtained from accredited sperm banks are used. Therefore, the success of sperm donation is largely determined by the egg quality of the female partner. Thanks to our stimulation protocols and sensitive follow-up processes, which are continuously improved in line with our scientific developments and experiences that we apply during the preparation process of the female partner, we achieve success rates in the range of 65-80%.
PRIVACY
In sperm donation application, the identities of the donor and recipient are kept confidential. Applying couples can only access the information on the donor’s profile form, the photo, identity and contact information of the donor are kept confidential. In the same way, donors cannot access the information of couples whose sperm are used.
LEGAL STATUS
IVF and donation treatment processes in Cyprus are subject to the Law No. 57/2014 “Governing the Rules for Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation”. According to this law:
- The donor sperms to be used must be brought from accredited sperm banks.
- The donor age should be between 20-45 years.
- Laboratory and genetic tests defined in the law must be performed.
- In donor cycles, parameters such as the ages of the donor and recipient, their prognosis and the quality of the embryos to be transferred are included and the number of transfers is decided in accordance with the limitations in IVF cycles.
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