Fertility Centre - Gamete donation

Oocyte (egg) donation

Who is suitable for this type of treatment?

Oocyte donation may be indicated when:

• a woman has not eggs left (premature ovarian failure or advanced age)
• a woman has few eggs and/or poor quality eggs, which makes pregnancy impossible despite in vitro fertilisation techniques.
• a woman is a carrier of a serious genetic disease that could be passed on to the child if she uses her own eggs.

 

Legal provisions

Belgian legislation allows oocyte donation to take place between two persons that know each other (direct or managed donation) or two persons that do not know each other (anonymous donation).

It is therefore perfectly possible to harvest eggs from a sister, a close relative, or a friend, to fertilise them and then transfer them to the reciepient.

It is also possible to make an anonymous egg donation or cross-donation.

In Belgium, there are very few spontaneous anonymous egg donors. Futhermore, it is forbidden to pay donors and to advertise.

Donors only receive a small compensation for the loss of salary due to the time needed for donation.

In the case of anonymous cross-donation, you can bring a donor you know from your circle. She could donate her eggs anonymously to another couple and in exchange we will provide you with eggs from another donor (cross-donation).

 

In principle, for anonymous donation, the donor must:

• Be over 18 and under 36 years old (35 y/o and 364 days).
• Meet the anamnesis criteria (personal and family medical history) and the para-clinical examinations requested by the medical doctor.
• Must meet with the psychologist.
• Must meet with a geneticist.

In principle, for direct donation, the donor must:

• Be over 18 and under 36 years old (35 y/o and 364 days).
• Have at least one child.
• Meet the anamnesis criteria (personal and family medical history) and the para-clinical examinations requested by the medical doctor.
• Must meet with the psychologist.
• Must meet with a geneticist.

However, these conditions are discussed on case-by-case basis.

The donor candidate must of course meet strict medical criteria before being accepted.

As for the recipient, she must have applied for MAP before the age of 45.

Embryo transfer is allowed until she is 48 years old (47 years and 364 days).

 

Treatment

The donor must undergo ovarian stimulation treatment to obtain several follicles and oocytes. This stimulation will last approximately 11 days. It is based on the same principle as the treatments used in standard IVF.

The maturation of the follicles must be monitored by a gynaecologist: this monitoring requires some blood tests and ultrasound scans, which can be done close to home as long as the results are received by fax or e-mail before 4pm on the same day.

When the follicles are mature, ovulation will be triggered by an injection that will take place late in the evening.

The donor must be at the clinic on the day of the retrieval for a day hospitalization. The oocyte retrieval is normally done under sedation (light general anaesthesia).

The recipient must have a check-up confirming her receptivity to embryo transfer and she must also undergo treatment to ensure the preparation of the uterus.

The recipient's cycle does not have to be synchronised with that of the donor. Indeed, it is quite possible for the donor to start her cycle and for the oocyte or embryos to be frozen before being transferred to the recipient at a later date, without reducing the chanced of pregnancy.

In practice, most of the time, the cycle of the recipient and the donor are desynchronised, thanks to efficient oocyte and embryo freezing techniques.

 

Results

The results of oocyte donation are good, and essentially depend on the age of the donor.

On average, it can be considered that more than 60% of recipients will be pregnant after their third transfer.

 

Are you interested in becoming an anonymous egg donor ? 

Please fill in this questionnaire. We will contact you as soon as possible.

 

Sperm donation

What is sperm donation?

Sperm donation is a medically assisted reproduction technique that involves using the sperm of a man other than the man involved in the parental project.

This may be because the latter is not able to produce their own sperm, or because there is no man involved in the initial parental project (single woman, female couple).

 

Who is suitable for this type of treatment?

Sperm donation may be indicated:

- When the male partner does not have any sperm cells (azoospermia), too few sperm cells (oligospermia) or when the quality of the sperm cells is too poor (teratospermia) to facilitate a pregnancy, despite access to in vitro fertilisation treatment.

- If the male partner is a carrier of a serious genetic disease that could be passed on to the child if he uses his own sperm.

- For female couples who want a child.

 

Belgian law

Sperm donation is permitted for heterosexual couples, but also for single women and female couples.

Anonymous donation is permitted, as well as donation resulting from a direct agreement between the donor and the prospective parent(s).

The sperm of one donor cannot lead to births in more than 6 different women (or female couples).

It is prohibited to market and sell sperm.

Once completed, sperm donation is irrevocable and the donor has no legal right or obligation to the child.

 

Who are the donors?

- Etiher voluntary anonymous donors who want to help another couple to conceive. Donation is altruistic and donations are not remunerated. They may only receive small compensation for any loss of salary incurred for the time required to complete the donation.

- Or direct donors: most frequently this is from a close friend who will give his sperm directly to a female or a couple, which will later allow the child to know their origins.

 

What examinations do donors undergo?

Anonymous donors must be between 18 abd 45 years old.

They will meet with a paediatric psychiatrist or a psychogologist, and a fertility specialist who will conduct in-depth questioning to verify their motivations, check their medical history, and ensure that there is no risk of transmitting a disease to the child.

A blood test will be taken to detect sexually transmissible diseases, the most common genetic diseases (such as cystic fibrosis) and certain chromosomal abnormalities via a karyotype.

The same tests will be performed in the case of direct donors.

 

Treatment in practice

Sperm donors will produce a sperm sample via masturbation.

The sperm will then be processed in the laboratory and frozen in vials.

They will then be quarantined for the necessary time required to ensure the absence of any STDs.

The sperm that presents the best physical characteristics will be selected for treatment.

If the woman has no fertility problems, the treatment will consists of intra-uterine insemination. At the time of ovulation, the sperm will be thawed and prepared, and then administered into the uterine cavity using a thin catheter.

In certain situations, it may be necessary to resort to in vitro fertilisation (blocked fallopian tubes, severe endometriosis, etc.). In this case, the woman's oocytes will be collected and fertilised in the laboratory with the sperm of the donor.

The embryo(s) formed will then be transferred into the woman's uterus where they can embed and continue to develop.

 

Results

A successful pregnancy during sperm donation varies depending on the age of the patient, potential pathology and the quality of the embryo that will be formed if in vitro fertilisation is used.

 

Possible risks

Pregnancies obtained following sperm donation are no different to a pregnancy obtained following normal sexual relations.

The rates of miscarriage or congenital defects are identical.

 

Are you interested in becoming an anonymous sperm donor ? 

Please fill in this questionnaire. We will contact you as soon as possible.