Fertility treatment using donor sperm

Using donated sperm can help many women and couples grow their family. We might recommend donor sperm if:

• you’re not producing sperm
• your own sperm are unlikely to result in a pregnancy
• you have a high risk of passing on an inherited disease
• you’re single

CHOOSING A SPERM DONOR

Using donor sperm is very safe. Initially the donors are selected based on a number of parameters:
– sperm quality
– age
– personality
– education
– 4 generation family health history

Further screening includes blood and urine analysis: chemistry panel, urinalysis, complete blood count, blood typing, HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, CMV IgG/IgM, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Chlamydia, HTLV

Genetic tests include the following:

• 4 generation family medical history, which is reviewed by a trained genetic specialist or a medical doctor (all donors)
• Cystic Fibrosis screening for 32-86 mutations in the Cystic Fibrosis gene (all Caucasian donors)
•   Chromosome analysis (all donors)
• Thalassemia (all donors). An HPLC analysis is done to detect this indirectly. Please contact us if you would like to have your donor genetically screened for carrier status.
•   Tay-Sachs disease (donors with Ashkenazi Jewish or French Canadian ancestry)
•   Canavan disease (donors with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry)
•   Familial Dysautonomia (donors with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry)
•   Fanconi Anemia type C (donors with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry)
•   Gaucher disease (donors with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry)
•   Niemann-Pick type A disease (donors with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry)
•   Sickle Cell Disease (donors with African ancestry are genetically screened). For all donors an HPLC analysis is done to detect this indirectly.

If you use a donor through EmbryoClinic, our clinical team will find the best match for the specific characteristics you decide that are important to you:

• Physical description (weight, height, eye color, hair color)
• Ethnicity
• Education level

DOES THE DONOR HAVE ANY RIGHTS TO CHILDREN?

The sperm donor has no legal rights or responsibilities to any children born with their sperm. This means they won’t be named on the birth certificate, won’t be required to provide financial support and won’t have any rights over how the child will be brought up. EmbryoClinic’s legal team is happy to clarify any other legal concerns you may have on sperm donation.

EmbryoClinic collaborates with certified sperm banks abroad, which meet strict criteria regarding the safety and effectiveness of their genetic material. If you are considering sperm donation, get in touch!