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77 DO YOU WISH TO BE A SPERM DONOR Contact us through www.spermadonor.be or call the Andrology Lab +32 2 477 66 52 situation could be that the woman does produce egg cells, but that they are not suitable for use. Once a woman passes the age of 43, her own genetic material is no longer used for any form of medically assisted fertilization. The chance of the treatment being successful would then be too small (0.5%) to justify it. In all the above cases, egg donation may be considered as a possible solution. There are couples in which the fertility problem is a combination of factors affecting both the man and the woman. These people can possibly be helped by embryo donation. THE SUPPLY Concerning donor sperm demand and supply are more or less balanced, partly thanks to the fact that we can rely on foreign sperm banks like the Danish Cryos as well. Nevertheless our centre is continually looking for new donors. The greater and more varied the supply, the better the selection for the recipient couple. Furthermore, due to the growing number of patients that appeal to medically assisted fertilization the demand steadily grows, which increases the risk for a shortage. Our campaign ‘Become a Sperman!’ fits in with the efforts of the CRG to provide an answer to this issue. Visit www.spermadonor.be if you wish additional information. DONATION DO YOU WISH TO DONATE OVOCYTES OR EMBRYOS Contact us through www.eiceldonor.be Or call Consultation CRG on the main line +32 2 477 66 99 The Consultation Department can also provide you all relevant information about obtaining donor material. 78 77| Image taken from the recruitment campaign for sperm donors ‘Become a Sperman!’ 78| Image taken from the recruitment campaign for egg donors ‘There is more in you!’ As far as donor eggs and embryos are concerned however, there is a critical shortage. As a result of this, the CRG is actively seeking women and couples who are willing to help solve this problem. The campaign ‘There is more in you’ fits in with this search. Surf to www.eiceldonor.be if you want to learn more about this. Initially couples who undergo an IVF treatment themselves are drawn on for the recruitment of potential egg donors. For example, women who produce more ripe eggs than they need for their own treatment can donate some of them immediately after the egg pick-up. This principle is known as ‘egg sharing’ or ‘partial donation’. Couples who have a surplus of healthy embryos after successful treatment and have no need for them anymore (e.g. because their child wish is fulfilled) may also decide to donate them to (an)other couple(s). A specific demographic group amongst these potential donor patients are those who have need for donor material themselves, in this case donor sperm. Through a system of ‘solidarity donation’ the CRG tries to motivate these women to act as egg donor, even partially. However, the CRG is also always actively looking for ‘voluntary’ donors, i.e. women without any infertility problems of their own but who are willing to follow that part of the treatment required 94
to allow the ‘harvesting’ of ripe eggs. In most cases, a volunteer is found by the couple who need treatment by egg donation, but the CRG also tries to encourage healthy young women from outside the IVF circuit to volunteer as egg donors. Anonymous or not A general rule is that the donors are not told who the recipients will be, and vice-versa. To be sure the new legislation (2007) concerning assisted fertilization and everything related leaves open the option for known donation, but nevertheless implies in the formulation of the rules altogether a marked preference for anonymity. A specific situation in which this general rule may be waived is that of egg donation, i.e. if the recipient couple explicitly chooses their own egg donor or the donor offers to help a specific couple. This is known as ‘named donation’. However, there are also cases where several couples each provide a donor and the donors are exchanged among the group. This ‘exchange donation’ system allows couples to find donors among their own families or friends, while still safeguarding the principle of anonymity. See ‘Named donation versus exchange donation’ p. 103 for the reason why this may be important. Strict selection and genetic screening Obviously, not everyone is a suitable donor. All donors need to undergo rigorous medical screening before they are approved as donors. For example, a detailed family history is mapped out and analysed thoroughly to identify recurring characteristics. General factors such as life expectancy, physical health, mental stability, etc. are important here. The preliminary testing procedures include determination of the donor’s blood group and rhesus factor and the blood is also tested for the presence of infections such as hepatitis (jaundice) and HIV (the AIDS virus). A phenotype profile is compiled of every sperm donor. This involves the donor’s characteristics, i.e. hair and eye colour, skin colour, build, etc. When donor sperm is used, great care is always taken to ensure that the donor’s blood group and as many physical characteristics as possible match those of the recipient couple. 79| Genetic map (karyotype) of a woman. 80| Genetic map of a man. 79 80 Unfortunately, this strict phenotype selection is not possible in cases of egg and embryo donation because the supply of donors is too limited and the treatment too complex. Furthermore, volunteer egg and embryo donors can only be recruited from among women up to the age of 35 years. Exceptions to this rule are only made in certain cases of named donation and with the recipient couple’s explicit permission. DONATION 95
Page 1: THE MAIN POINTS All people who rely
Page 5 and 6: SPERM DONATION As mentioned above,
Page 7 and 8: EGG DONATION Egg donation offers th
Page 9 and 10: Finally, and strange as this may se
Page 11 and 12: In case of an uneven number of eggs
Page 13 and 14: contribution can have an amplified
Page 15 and 16: EMBRYO DONATION A couple’s infert

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