Donated sperm is screened and frozen sperm that has been given to a sperm bank by a man (the sperm donor) with the intention that it be used to create pregnancies in one or more woman who are not his sexual partners.
The sperm donor is the natural or biological father of every child produced as a result of his donations. By law he has no parental rights and is not the legal father of any child produced.
You can choose an anonymous sperm donor from our sperm bank or you can ask someone that you know to be a known-sperm donor for you.
How is donor sperm used in fertility treatments?
Donor sperm may be used as part of either insemination (IUI) treatments or IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatments.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) with donor sperm is a form of assisted conception treatment that involves the injection of frozen and then thawed sperm into the womb at the right time as an egg is released (ovulation).
In-vitro fertilization is a form of treatment that involves inseminating frozen and then thawed sperm around a woman’s eggs in the IVF laboratory. Intrauterine insemination requires at least one healthy fallopian tube. For couples undergoing donor egg treatment or where the female partner does not have at least one healthy fallopian tube, IVF treatment with donor sperm is recommended.
Who might choose donor sperm treatment?
Many patients choose to use donor sperm treatment for a variety of reasons. Sperm donation is often used for:
Couples where the man has no sperm production (azoospermia)
Couples where the man would require a surgical procedure to retrieve sperm from the testicles and chooses not to undergo this surgery
Couples where the sperm levels are extremely low or the quality of the sperm is very low and they are choosing not to undergo IVF with sperm injection (ICSI) or have not achieved a family with IVF-ICSI.
Couples where the man carries a genetic disorder and chooses not to pass this on to a child
Single sex couples
Single women
Couples where the man has HIV
What does donor sperm treatment involve?
FREE NURSE CONSULTATION
At this appointment the nurse will explain the process and organise the initial tests required. The basic process will be explained including your likely costs.
DOCTOR APPOINTMENT AND FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENT(S) AS ADVISED
This appointment will go through your history and results. The doctor will discuss your donor sperm treatment options (IUI or IVF), likely success rates and costs.
Often some more tests will be required, depending on your individual situation.
YOU DECIDE IF DONOR SPERM TREATMENT IS RIGHT FOR YOU
If you are ready to go ahead with donor sperm treatment, then you will need to book a counselling appointment, choose and organise your sperm sample and ensure that you have all the necessary tests done. If you are not sure about your decision the counsellors can help you with this as well.
Counselling appointment(s)
The decision to go ahead with donor sperm treatment can be a difficult one for the person or people involved. There are many, ethical, religious and legal aspects that you might need to consider. We encourage everyone considering using donor sperm to have a counseling session with the clinic counselors to discuss the implications of donor sperm use and any reservations or other questions they may have about the treatment.
CHOOSE AND PURCHASE AN ANONYMOUS DONOR SPERM SAMPLE FROM THE CLINIC OR COMPLETE THE PROCESS OF KNOWN SPERM DONOR SCREENING
You will need to complete a donor sperm matching form, that will ask you to indicate the types of characteristics you are looking for in a sperm donor, such as height, weight, eye colour, skin colour, ethnicity, educational background etc. We will provide you with a list of the currently available sperm donor samples in our clinic bank and the costs of the samples. If you do not see a sperm donor that you like we will also provide you with information on the overseas sperm banks that we work with. If you wish to bring in your own sperm donor sample from overseas, the cost will usually be 2-3 times more than the donors in our clinic bank. When the clinic has received your completed donor matching form and received payment, the sperm sample is ready for your use, whenever you choose to begin treatment.
Please note that each year an annual storage fee for your frozen sperm will need to be paid. This fee covers the liquid nitrogen costs, storage administration and continuous monitoring to help keep your sperm safe (Currently $2500 TTD).
Choosing and screening a known sperm donor
At TIFC a known sperm donor must:
not be a first or second-degree relative of the woman (when she is using her own eggs)
be negative for HIV, Hepatitis B & C, Syphilis at donation and six months afterwards (quarantine period)
have been a non-smoker for at least three months
be aged 20-45 years
not have inheritable e.g. sickle cell disease.
have a normal semen analysis
have seen a clinic fertility counselor
complete a donor questionnaire form
If you have a known sperm donor
STEP 1 – chat with a clinic nurse or doctor about your known sperm donor.
STEP 2 - books an appointment for your potential donor to do a semen analysis
STEP 3 – Your Potential sperm donor attends the clinic with ID, completes a sperm donor questionnaire, does a semen analysis and has the sperm donor blood tests taken.
STEP 4 – the result of the blood tests, semen analysis and sperm donor questionnaire are passed to the clinic doctor for review. Your potential sperm donor is either rejected or accepted as being suitable to donate sperm for you.
STEP 5 – You will be given a call by one of the clinic nurses to let you know the results
STEP 6 – If accepted your sperm donor (and any significant partner of his) has the mandatory counseling session with one of our clinic counselors.
STEP 7 – Your sperm donor books for a sperm freeze on one or more occasion. One or more sperm samples are produced and frozen. The sperm is held in quarantine for SIX months until the donor has repeat blood tests for HIV, Hepatitis B & C and Syphilis blood tests. Once these results are negative AND signed by a clinic doctor, we will release the frozen sperm from quarantine and your donor sperm treatment can begin whenever you are ready.
BEGIN TREATMENT WITHIN 12 MONTHS OF STEP 2 (DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT)
If it has been more than 12 months since you were reviewed and examined by the doctor in clinic, then you will need to book an appointment to be reviewed to ensure that donor sperm treatment is still a safe and effective option for you.
All women wishing to have treatment with donor sperm in the clinic must have had the following tests completed and signed off by our clinic doctor.
Within the last three years:
Within the last 12 months:
Blood tests for CMV (IgG and IgM)
Infection screening (HIV, Hep B, Hep C, VDRL)
Rubella status
Examination by the clinic doctor
Cervical PAP smear
Vaginal ultrasound by the clinic doctor
Mammogram (if >45 years)
Tube x-ray for IUI only
Before commencing any fertility treatment with donor sperm, the sample must be ready for use, i.e. anonymous sperm has been purchased and is in our sperm bank or a known-donor has passed the quarantine period.
Does the Sperm Donor have any legal right to the child?
Any child born as a result of treatment with donor sperm will be legally the child of the husband or male partner (unless he did not consent to the treatment) and his name will be put on the birth certificate as the legal father.
The sperm donor is not the child’s legal father and has no legal responsibilities for the child and cannot gain parental rights in the future.
