Donor sperm provides another family-building option for use with IUI and IVF

Texas Fertility Center offers a variety of fertility treatments to address the complex causes of infertility and help you build the family of your dreams. Donor sperm is one such option that our Austin infertility doctors offer. The use of sperm donation can allow you to achieve pregnancy as part of intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).

If you are interested in donating your sperm, please note that Texas Fertility Center is not a sperm bank. As such, we do not accept sperm donations.

Who can benefit from sperm donation?

The beauty of donor sperm is that it can help many different types of patients welcome a healthy baby. One of the most common situations where sperm donation comes into play is when a couple cannot conceive on their own, due to poor sperm quality or quantity.

This type of third party reproduction can also help the following groups of patients.

• Single women who want to be mothers.
• Lesbian couples who want to welcome a biological child.
• Couples in which the male partner has a genetic illness that could pass to the baby.

Another benefit of sperm donation is that our Austin infertility doctors can use it as part of an IUI or IVF cycle. Donor eggs, in contrast, must be used with in vitro fertilization in order to achieve pregnancy.

Where do patients find sperm donors?

Because male fertility does decline with age, sperm donors are typically under 40. Most patients select an anonymous donor through a sperm bank, but it’s also possible to use a known donor for sperm donation. Having a close male friend provide donor sperm is one common example.

The benefit of finding a donor through a sperm bank is that he has undergone extensive screening, including a semen analysis to determine sperm quality and a review of his family and medical history. Sperm banks also provide details about each donor’s education, appearance, hobbies and interests. You can use this information to select the best donor for your family.

Regardless of whether the donor is anonymous or known, he must undergo rigorous blood testing to minimize the risk of transmitting a communicable disease. Also, his sperm must be in quarantine for a minimum of six months before using it. You can only use his sperm if all testing is negative after this six-month period.

How does the donor sperm process work?

Our Austin infertility doctors will review your family-building goals and diagnosis before selecting the best treatment to use with donor sperm. As mentioned above, you will either use IUI or IVF.

• During an IUI cycle, the female patient will visit our offices around the time she is ovulating. Her doctor will place the washed and prepared sperm in her uterus to help achieve pregnancy. IUI can occur as part of a natural or a medicated cycle, depending on the female patient’s diagnosis and needs.
• IVF involves a few more steps. The female patient will take medications for ovarian stimulation and then undergo an egg retrieval procedure. Our embryologists will freeze her eggs with the donated sperm in the IVF laboratory. Her doctor will then transfer one resulting embryo to her uterus.

Both options are wonderful ways that you can start or grow your family. Contact us to schedule an appointment and learn which treatment option would be best for you.