Questions for IVF with sperm donation

How much sperm should I reserve?

Reservation of Donor Semen

Don't risk changing donors in the middle of a treatment cycle to ensure genetic siblings.

When you have selected your donor, don't risk that we are sold out in the middle of your treatment process. Averagely 5-6 cycle treatments are needed to achieve pregnancy. Therefore, reserving a sufficient amount of straws is recommended before the treatment starts.

After you have given birth to a child, you might want to have more children. The question is whether it is possible to receive semen from the same donor. Often this is not possible because the particular donor will be sold out by that time.

The benefits of using the same donor for future pregnancies are obvious:

• The children will be 100% genetically related and have the best chance of having similar features.
• The donor was successful. You became pregnant by use of this particular donor. Not all donors and recipients will "match" biologically together and result in a pregnancy.
• You will know what to expect.
• Some children might develop identity problems later in life if they are told about donor insemination. It might help them if they are 100% genetically related to their brothers or sisters.

To avoid both situations, it is recommended to make a reservation of semen when you order the semen the first time or the latest when the pregnancy has been confirmed. If you have questions, our staff will guide you through the difficult process regarding quality, quantity, and storage period.

Insemination in the Cervical Channel - Unwashed:

For vaginal/cervical insemination

We recommend to use 2 x MOT20 straws or higher qualities per treatment.

For Intrauterine Insemination

If the sperm is prepared by the swim-up method, we recommend using 2 x MOT20 straws or higher qualities per treatment. If the sperm is prepared by the gradient-centrifugation method, all ICI-unwashed qualities can be used because the concentration is a result of concentration/dilution after the preparation. After preparation, there should be a minimum of 2 million motile spermatozoa per ml. for IUI.

IUI-ready:

For intrauterine insemination

We recommend using 1 or 2 x IUI-MOT5 straws or 1 x IUI-MOT10 straw per treatment. IUI-MOT20 or higher quality can also be used. Only the authorized fertility doctor may perform the intra-uterine treatment.

Do you provide ICI unwashed or IUI-ready?

We provide both ICI-unwashed and IUI-ready. Some call it raw semen or prepared semen or just washed or unwashed. IUI means "Intra Uterine Insemination" or "insemination directly in the uterus cavity." ICI means "insemination in the cervical channel," but the expression is not totally correct, but it has gained acceptance as such. The sperm is just raw or unwashed. Raw semen (or unwashed) can only be used for vaginal or cervical insemination as it contains prostaglandins and bacteria which may not be inseminated into the uterus. IUI-ready semen has been treated by a so-called gradient centrifugation method where prostaglandins and bacteria have been removed from the plasma. IUI-ready semen can be inseminated directly into the uterus or used for IVF.

Raw semen can also be used for IUI or IVF, but not until after thawing and following a preparation - either by use of swim-up or by gradient centrifugation. Both raw semen and IUI-ready are provided in different qualities from MOT5 to MOT50+ (raw semen) and MOT5 to MOT20+ (IUI).

What does MOT mean?

MOT means motility (ability to move or swim), and 20 means 20 million per ml. According to the WHO standard, the term states a minimum of 20 million motile spermatozoa per ml in the sample after thawing. We operate with the following qualities:

• MOT5
• MOT10
• MOT20
• MOT30
• MOT40
• MOT50+.

What are IMV straws?

IMV straws were the standard straws before CBS high-security straws were developed in the late 1990'ties. IMV straws were originally developed for the animal reproductive industry but were also used for freezing of human sperm and egg for about 50 years. The standard straws used are clear or yellow colour 0.5 ml. In the year 2000, special manufactured 0.4 ml CBS high-security straws were used as standard. The stock of IMV straws will decrease after the year 2000, but it will take decades before the last IMV straws are gone.

How can you know the post-thaw quality of semen?

A sample of each specimen is analyzed after first being frozen and then thawed.

How many DI-treatment cycles are expected per pregnancy?

This varies greatly from patient to patient and also depends on the semen preparation technique, the insemination technique, hormone stimulation, timing etc. The average number of cycles is around five to six per pregnancy. Our clients report an average pregnancy rate (PR) of about 15 - 40% per cycle.

Are the sperm donors anonymous?

Yes, according to Greek legislation, doctors are only allowed to treat with semen from anonymous donors. The identity of anonymous donors is registered. Recipient and children's ID or pregnancy information is never passed on to our donors. Any recipient identity registered will be kept strictly confidential.

Should the child have the right to know the identity of the sperm donor?

Many surveys show that the recipients (especially the social fathers) do not want the child to have the opportunity of finding the biological father. Recipients prefer anonymous donors. These surveys also show that few of the DI-children (0-14%) are actually told about their DI-origin, and this is mainly important to lesbian couples and singles where there is no obvious father.

We do not know much about how DI-children feel and think. There is very little literature about this issue. One is from "The Australian Donor Conception Support Group," which has published the book "Let the offspring speak." It is interesting to read the testimonies from adult DI-children, who are usually of the opinion that anonymous DI should be forbidden.

Many people describe traumatic lives with communication difficulties and problems with interpersonal relations with their (social) father. Later in life, when they are told about their DI-origin, most of them are suddenly able to see why they have had such a traumatic life, and they now have an explanation for their problems, which are due to the "false" father, etc. However, there is nothing special about this problem that might just as well be characteristic of other individuals.

Other people can also have a traumatic life with communication difficulties and problems with interpersonal relations with their father. The only difference is that other people do not have this "explanation" for their problems. Moreover, these DI-children, who plead injustice to their person, would not have existed at all had it not been for the anonymous donor. Their demand is thus self-contradictory. The alternative is not to exist.

Anyone can have problems concerning not being born under optimum circumstances and with ideal parents. Nothing can be done about this. Many of the DI-offspring also express their problems with their life-lie (truth has been kept from them). At the other end of the scale with DI-offspring who have not experienced trauma or problems with their origins or (social) father, nor - indeed - with anonymity, only are a few cases known. Some of them do not even express curiosity about the donor. But the voice of the discontented few carries much more weight as it is regarded as being representative of all DI children. Who represents the great, happy (uninformed), silent majority?

Raising your Pregnancy Chance above the average

Normally, it is recommended that at least 5 straws are reserved. These numbers correspond to the average consumption of straws per pregnancy. If you wish to have a higher pregnancy chance than the average, you should reserve more straws. But if you were treated by IVF or if you became pregnant very easily the first time, you may reserve fewer straws and vice versa.

If you cannot afford to reserve the recommended number of straws, some straws are better than none. Even though it is very difficult to do so, you should also consider whether you want more than one more child in the future. If you want five children, the above-recommended number of straws is certainly not enough. You can always contact us for guidance and discussion concerning this question.

Should the actual donor be sold out, you can be registered on a waiting list. Then you will be contacted if there is later sperm free of quarantine or if other with a reservation expires. For the moment, hundreds of people are registered on the waiting list, which is a clear signal that it is a good idea to make a reservation in due time.