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Your guide to fertility treatment using a donor

Treatment

Your guide to fertility treatment using a donor

For many individuals and couples, using a donor is the only pathway to build a family they have always longed for. This guide explores how to choose a donor, what is involved in the procedure and who may consider using a donor.

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In this guide:

When it comes to using a donor for fertility treatment, it's important to understand what is involved in the process.

In this guide, we cover:

- How fertility treatment using a donor works

- How the donor matching process works

- Fertility treatment options

Fertility treatment using a donor

Fertility treatment involving a donor is a pathway for individuals and couples to build a family, particularly when a person's sperm or eggs are not viable due to reasons such as age or medical conditions.

This option can especially benefit same-sex couples, older women, single parents, women with genetic disorders, or those facing infertility.

At TFP Fertility, our donors undergo in-depth health and fertility testing to ensure their donation is safe for its recipient and any children conceived.

How to choose a donor

Choosing a sperm or egg donor is one of the most important and life-changing decisions a future parent can make, so it is crucial to find the right match. This can be an overwhelming process, which is why we work with you to find a donor that feels right for you.

You can use a known donor or select one through a licensed fertility clinic or a donation bank. Initially, you’ll review donor profiles based on personal preferences. Recipients often want their child to resemble them, so finding a donor who closely matches these traits is important. However, it's crucial to understand that there is no guarantee that the child will inherit the same physical traits as the recipient.

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Treatment

How does fertility treatment using a donor work?

Understanding what's involved in the treatment process is useful when planning your next steps. Here's what a typical fertility journey looks like at TFP Fertility.

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Review donor profiles

Recipients will review egg or sperm donor profiles based on their personal preferences. These include physical characteristics, such as height, hair and eye colour. Information about the donor’s occupation, educational background, hobbies, interests and personality traits are also included.

Donor matching consent

After selecting a donor, our fertility specialists will review the profile with the recipient, reiterating all the details, including eye colour, height, and weight. The recipient will then confirm if they are satisfied with the chosen donor.

Some donors choose to leave a goodwill message for any children born from their donation. This will also be read by the recipient when choosing a donor.

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Treatment

Once the egg or sperm donor is confirmed, a treatment plan is created to prepare the recipient for embryo transfer. Treatment options include IVF, Intrauterine insemination (IUI) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Your consultant will be able to make recommendations on the treatment pathway that will maximise your chances of success.

Treatment planning

At your treatment planning appointment, we'll carry out a fertility assessment, explain your treatment in full and take you through your regime of fertility drugs and how to use them.

This is particularly important to prepare those using an egg donor for embryo transfer. You'll have the opportunity to ask any questions you have before treatment starts.

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Who might consider donor treatment?

For some, using a donor is the only option for individuals or couples to build a family they have always wished for. You may consider using a donor if:

You're not producing eggs or sperm of your own, or your eggs or sperm are unlikely to result in a pregnancy.
You're part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
You're a single person pursuing solo parenthood.
You're at risk of passing on a genetic disease

Legal and ethical considerations

In the UK, the birthing parent is always recognised as the legal parent of any resulting children, rather than the donor. It’s important to understand that you will not be the biological parent, as the egg will contain the donor's DNA. However, the birthing parent is acknowledged as the legal parent, meaning the donor has no rights regarding the child's upbringing and is not required to provide financial support.

Furthermore, there is a legal limit on the number of families that can be created using sperm or eggs from the same donor, capped at 10 families. However, each family can have multiple children from the same donor if they choose.

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Treatment

Fertility treatment options

In vitro fertilisation (IVF)

During IVF, eggs are retrieved from the ovaries following a period of stimulation and then mixed with sperm in a lab. The resulting embryo/s are left to develop over a 5-6 day period before being transferred to the birth parent or frozen.

Learn more

Intrauterine insemination (IUI)

IUI is a less invasive procedure than IVF which involves injecting healthy sperm directly into the uterus. This is usually recommended for same-sex female couples using a sperm donor.

Learn more

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

ICSI is an additional step during the IVF process that is recommended for patients with male factor infertility or that are using frozen eggs. It involves injecting a single healthy sperm directly into the egg.

Learn more

Surrogacy

Surrogacy involves another person carrying and giving birth to a child that you'll become the legal parent of. This is where eggs from another donor are used to create the embryos rather than the surrogate's eggs.

Learn more