The donor program represents an integral part of a comprehensive infertility treatment.
Oocyte (egg) donation
Oocyte donation is one of the successful methods of infertility treatment. Treatment with donated eggs represents a set of procedures in which the eggs of an anonymous donor are fertilized by the sperms of the partner or a donor.
Reasons for treatment with donated oocytes:
- premature ovarian failure
genetic diseases, - low egg quality in previous IVF cycles,
- previous oncological treatment,
- repeatedly unsuccessful embryo transfers with the patient’s own eggs.
In up to 50% of oocyte recipients, the reason is premature ovarian insufficiency, failure of ovarian function before reaching the age of 40.
The principle of oocyte donation
Oocyte donors are women between the ages of 18 and 34. The donation itself is preceded by a number of tests and assessments that the oocyte donor must undergo to rule out infectious, sexually and genetically transmitted diseases. When selecting an oocyte donor, the appearance and phenotypic traits of the recipient shall be taken into account. We also try to take into account the blood group of the recipient and the donor.
The oocyte donor undergoes ovarian stimulation, which is followed by egg retrieval (pick-up) under general anesthesia. These are fertilized with the partner’s sperm on the day of the retrieval, and after several days of culturing (usually 3-5 days), 1 or 2 embryos (as agreed) are transferred by a thin catheter into the recipient’s uterus. Embryo(s) transfer is timed to align the recipient’s cycle with the donor cycle. In some cases, the embryos are frozen (cryopreserved) and then it is not necessary to align the cycles of the recipient and the donor. The embryo transfer is performed within the natural cycle of the patient on a specific day after ovulation is confirmed.
Oocyte donation is strictly anonymous, voluntary and unpaid. However, each donor is fully compensated for the time and costs that she will incur in association with the donation. According to the legislation of the Slovak Republic, the mother of the child is the woman who gives birth to the child.
Embryo donation
Embryo donation is an alternative method of infertility treatment suitable for and used by couples with major disorders of production of their own reproductive cells (eggs and sperms) in both partners. Treatment with donated embryos uses embryos created by fertilizing the egg and the sperm of anonymous male and female donors.
Sperm donation
Sperm donation is recommended for couples with persisting problem with fertility of the male partner. This concerns the absence of sperm in the ejaculate (azoospermia) or when the partner is a carrier of a genetic disease. Donated sperm cannot be used to fertilize a woman who does not have a male partner.
The principle of sperm donation
A sperm donor can be a male aged 18-34, who meets the donation criteria in terms of the semen analysis parameters and the results of initial check-ups and tests to rule out infectious, sexually and genetically transmitted diseases. Sperms are frozen and stored in quarantine for 180 days. Then, tests for infectious and sexually transmitted diseases are performed again. The sperm can actually be used for donation only if negative results are confirmed.
Prečítajte si aj, že Mať rodinu nemusí byť len sen. Darcovský program je pomoc a nádej pre mnohé bezdetné páry.
