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Sperm donation is a form of IVF treatment used when no healthy sperm cells can be collected from the father. Sperm is selected from the sperm bank based on the physical attributes of the father, and the egg collected from the mother is fertilised and transferred.
Where sperm cannot be obtained from the father in the natural way, it is possible to obtain it via TESA or micro-TESE operations.
In cases where the father has not produced sperm from birth or the sperm is affected by illness, medication or testicular damage and it is not possible to obtain sperm, couples are advised to use a sperm donor.
It is also advisable to use sperm donation in cases where the male partner carries the possibility of passing on a hereditary disease.
Other Reasons for Sperm Donation
Sperm donation is also required for lesbian couples or single women who wish to have a baby.
Sperm Donation Stages
- The sperm donation treatment process starts with detailed tests for the woman and recording the father’s hair colour, eye colour, body structure, blood group etc. After that, the sperm donor selection process is started.
- The female will begin her stimulation injections, before flying to Cyprus on day 10 of her treatment cycle, or she can do the whole procedure in Cyprus. The day after you arrive you will come to the hospital for a trans-vaginal scan, to check the progress of your follicle stimulation. It is possible that you may require a few more days of stimulation, depending on how your ovaries have responded to the medication. Doctor will also check your uterine lining during this scan.
- Once your follicles have reached maturity, you will be given a ‘trigger shot’ to prepare your eggs for collection. During egg collection you will be mildly sedated and won’t feel a thing. Within the hour, the male donor sperm sample is used in the ICSI process to fertilise the eggs.
- After fertilisation, the embryos are left to develop within our special incubators for 3 to 5 days.
- Wherever possible, we will try to culture the embryos to the blastocyst stage (5 days in the lab) before transferring them back to you. The embryo transfer process is not done under sedation, and you will need a comfortably full bladder in order for the transfer to take place. You will then be required to spend 2 hours laid flat in your personal patient room, as Doctor feels this helps aid the implantation process. Once you have spent 2 hours laid down, you will be free to leave the hospital.
We are able to transfer up to 3 embryos and thus increase the chances of pregnancy. We secure an 80-85% success rate, which is higher than the world average.
Certified Donors
Certified Donors from Cryos Bank with 100% Confidentiality
We work with Cryos International Denmark which was founded in 1981 and is known as one of the largest and most reliable sperm banks in the world.
Before sperm samples are accepted by Cryos Bank, many detailed tests are carried out for genetic and infectious diseases. Sperm which does not pass the tests is not accepted by the bank. This ensures our patients are only getting the highest quality donation.
Sperm donors are also subjected to psychological and intelligence tests. Donors who do not reach a certain benchmark are not accepted, meaning you can be sure your donor is of the highest calibre.
You can also create a profile in Cryos Sperm Bank and choose your donor as per preference (nationality, hair colour, eye colour etc.)