Donor Programs That Can Help You Conceive

There are several reasons why couples may require donor gametes whilst they’re trying to conceive. Sometimes, female partners may be unable to release an egg, male partners may have no sperm, same-sex couples may want to start a family or single women may want to have a baby. Thankfully, in all of these scenarios, there are donor programs available to help with conception and donor programs can give people the children they’ve always wanted. 

If you’ve been trying to conceive for a while now, but you’ve not had a successful pregnancy, you may want to consider using a donor program to increase your chances of conceiving. To give you an insight into what donor programs are available and who they can benefit, below we have looked into the most popular donor programs we offer here at Sims IVF. 

Donor sperm

Our sperm donor program is designed to help couples or single women who need donor sperm to have a baby. When you choose to use donated sperm, you can have peace of mind knowing the donor will have no paternal rights to the children born using their sperm. All sperm donors are between the age of 18 - 50 and they undergo rigorous assessments before being approved for donation, including being screened for genetic conditions and infectious diseases.

When you’re choosing donor sperm, you will have access to some information about the donors. A donor bank will provide you with details of the donors’ physical appearance, psychological profile and education/occupation, among other things, so you can make an informed decision. The donor sperm you choose can then be used during fertility treatments like IUI, IVF and ICSI. It’s worth noting that if you’d like to have more children in the future, reservation of donor sperm from the same donor may be possible too. 

Donor eggs 

Lots of couples are exploring egg donation these days when they’ve been unable to conceive either naturally or with the assistance of fertility treatments. Some women are unable to provide eggs suitable for fertility treatments like IVF, for example, and they will use donor eggs to help them have a baby. Similarly to sperm donors, egg donors will have no legal rights to the eggs, embryos or children born using their eggs. 

Before donating their eggs, donors will be screened in line with internationally recognised standards and you can trust that only high-quality eggs can be donated. Again, when choosing which eggs to use, you will have access to a range of the donors’ characteristics and this can help you to ensure you’re choosing donor eggs that are best suited to you and your partner. Our egg donation program has brilliant success rates and it can be beneficial to consider if the chances of getting pregnant with your own eggs are very slim.  

Known egg donation 

There are a few different egg donation programs available to help couples who are trying to conceive and sometimes, couples prefer to know their donor. A known egg donor program is when a family member or friend agrees to be an egg donor for a couple. Having a known egg donor can help you to feel more in control of your fertility journey and it can remove some of the risk and uncertainty involved with using an unknown donor. Usually, it’s a shorter waiting time and a quicker process when you know your egg donor too. 

Of course, there are some complexities involved with knowing your egg donor and it’s important to carefully consider whether this is the best option for you. Should you decide to go ahead with our known egg donor program, you will be offered counselling sessions throughout your pregnancy journey. You will be able to explore all potential issues associated with knowing the donor of the eggs you use when trying to conceive. 

Speaking to a fertility specialist when you’re trying to conceive

If you’re experiencing fertility problems and you’d like to find out more about any of the donor programs mentioned above, don’t hesitate to contact our expert team at Sims IVF. As one of the leading fertility clinics in Ireland, you can turn to us in confidence for support during your fertility journey and we will do all we can to help you start a family. We offer a vast range of fertility services and we have a holistic approach to treatment. To find out more about our team at Sims IVF, the fertility treatments we provide and our success rates, explore our website today.