Donor sperm: How does it work?
By Geraldine Fitzgerald
The veil of secrecy overlying all things fertility-related has happily been whisked away by the desire for concrete information, and real people speaking frankly about their own stories.
These days, a quick glance at any fertility clinic’s website is a more heartening and edifying experience, particularly if you’re one of the people who need to use donor sperm to build your family.
Women in a same-sex relationship; those with male partners carrying potentially inheritable genetic abnormities with suboptimal sperm quality, and women who’ve made the decision not to waste any more precious years hoping a partner will appear on the horizon choosing to have a ‘solo’ pregnancy, can all avail of sperm donation.
So how does it all work? There are no sperm banks in Ireland, so clinics here generally source sperm from reputable sperm banks in Denmark.
Recent changes in Irish legislation mean no anonymous donors can be used- everything must be identifiable, which means that although you as a parent won’t receive identifying information, children born using donor sperm are entitled to it once they reach the age of consent.
The donor does not receive any information about the recipient, nor does he have any paternal rights to any children as a result of treatment using his sperm.
The screening process used for sperm donors is extremely robust, and only a small percentage of donors are ultimately accepted after several rounds of rigorous assessments.
In Denmark, sperm banks keep the following information on file as a standard minimum: colour of eyes, colour of hair, height, weight, type of build, race, details of complexion and appearance, age, education/occupation, blood type, karyotyping, psychological profile, and infectious screening results. You can request donors with extended profiles, usually at an additional cost.
The donors are available on a searchable database, and there is a degree of ‘shopping’ involved, but sperm donation co-ordinators are on hand in all clinics to help guide people through the process.
The men who donate are physically healthy from a cross section of society. There’s nothing to stop you from choosing a 6ft 3” lumberjack with a PhD, or whatever, as long as he’s determined to be a match for you after viral screening.
Once you’ve made your decision and liaised with your co-ordinator, transport of sperm is organised, which takes several weeks. Once it arrives, you begin treatment.
Depending on the case, treatment usually starts with IUI (intrauterine insemination). In some cases, IVF may be used, but the ethos of clinics is normally to use the least invasive technique where suitable.
Treatment costs will vary depending on what it is that you need, including sperm transport, but these costs are made transparent and informed decisions are a crucial part of the process.
Individual clinics will discuss success rates with you, but in general the success rate of treatment using donor sperm through IUI is about 30%.
The success rate of IVF using donor sperm depends on the woman’s age and egg quality, but for women aged 35-38 it’s a reported 40%, and women under 35 have an increased success rate of 60%.
Talk of percentages and shopping lists may seem a little detached to the average reader but advances in fertility science and accessibility represent opportunities to people who really, really want to have a baby.
More importantly, with science comes hope!