Donation

Sperm Donation

• Indications to insemination / in-vitro fertilization (IVF) using the donor sperm:

  For men

  • a malefactor of infertility,
  • sexual (ejaculation) dysfunctions,
  • unfavorable medico-genetic forecast.

  For women

  • absence of sex partner.

  All sperm donors undergo the medical and psychological examination according to the Order of the RF Ministry of Healthcare № 107n:

  • General practitioner’s examination and diagnosis;
  • Urologist’s examination and diagnosis;
  • Psychiatrist’s examination and diagnosis;
  • Geneticist’s consultation;
  • Blood test for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C;
  • Determination of blood group and rhesus-factor;
  • Examination for sexually-transmitted infections (herpes, gonorrhea, ureaplasmosis, mycoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, chlamydiosis);
  • Spermogram;
  • Karyotyping.

  Usage of cryopreserved donor sperm is possible only for the samples that have been tested repeatedly for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B and C. The usage of donor sperm enables to exclude the risk of transmission of different infectious diseases and avoid the encounter between donor and recipient.

  The clinic provides the following information about the donor:

  • Nationality
  • Age
  • Height / weight
  • Education
  • Profession
  • Blood group and Rhesus factor
  • Color of hair/eyes
  • Form of face / nose / ears

  Sperm donation is absolutely anonymous! Donor sperm is the property of the clinic and the donors have no access to the information about recipients of their material.

Egg Donation

• Whom is IVF suitable for with egg donation?

  Donor egg IVF is generally with significantly diminished egg quantity and quality (poor ovarian reserve). This includes women with:

  • Premature ovarian failure (early menopause)
  • Very poor egg quality
  • Poor response to ovarian stimulation
  • Very low antral follicle counts on ultrasound
  • Advanced female age, such as over age 40

  Donor egg IVF is recommended to the women who are known to be affected or be the carrier of a genetic disease in order to avoid the risk of passing on genetic disorders to her child.

  Our donors

  Altravita IVF clinic has a well-developed egg donation program corresponding to the highest standards and criteria set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). We only accept egg cells from young (18-32), good-looking, healthy donors.

  We have a large database of active egg donors who underwent a thorough medical and psychological screening. Besides providing a detailed medical history about herself and close blood relatives, the donor undergoes the following examinations:

  • general medical examination (including blood tests, ultrasound scan)
  • ovarian reserve testing  
  • infectious disease screening for a variety of infections
  • genetic screening and karyotyping
  • drug test
  • medical examination by gynecologist, geneticist and psychiatrist.

  Fresh and frozen egg donation programs  

  Both programs are offered at Altravita.

  Fresh egg donation IVF cycles is the way the majority of egg donation is done around the world:

  • The donors are chosen by a recipient couple and stimulated to produce multiple eggs.
  • The eggs are retrieved and fertilized by patient’s partner sperm (or donor sperm) with the resulting fresh embryos transferred to the patient.
  • Remaining embryos would be frozen for future frozen embryo transfer procedures (if needed).

  All the eggs from the donor are available to you for fertilization. This cycle maximizes the pregnancy rates and typically results in additional embryos for cryopreservation.

  Egg freezing has improved significantly over the past several years due to fine-tuning of freezing and thawing protocols. Thawed egg survival and viability is much better than it was previously. A new technology of ultrafast freezing (vitrification) of oocytes was invented. The embryologists at our clinic were early leaders in the field of egg and embryo vitrification. Altravita has a record of successful IVF programs with frozen donor eggs.

  Frozen egg donation does not require synchronization of the cycle between the donor and the patient. Treatment cycles are quicker and treatment cost is lower compared to fresh egg donation.

  Legal aspects of egg donation program

  According to the legislation of the Russian Federation a woman, who gave birth to a child, is considered the mother (except for surrogacy cases). The donor has no legal relations to the child conceived from her egg.
  The law does not set the age limit for this treatment program.

  IVF with egg donation treatment steps

  • Consultation with reproductive endocrinologist; selection of the individual stimulation protocol: preparing the uterine lining for embryo transfer and synchronization of the donor and patient cycles in case of fresh egg donation.
  • Monitoring of the hormonal stimulation under ultrasound.
  • Collection of donor eggs under general anesthesia/thawing of vitrified donor eggs.
  • Sperm collection, analysis and preparation. Semen is prepared for fertilization by removing inactive cells and seminal fluid by so-called sperm washing.
  • Fertilization using ICSI or IMSI methods.
  • Cultivation of embryos. The produced embryos are being cultivated in special incubators for 5-6 days. Their development is closely monitored by experienced embryologists. If necessary, PGS or PGD can be performed to select the embryos free from genetic diseases.  
  • Embryo transfer is a painless transfer of the best embryo into the woman’s uterus. Spare embryos will be cryopreserved by vitrification method.

Embryo donation

• Thus, the program can be recommended if:

  • there is a high risk of having a child with a genetic pathology;
  • a combined factor of infertility was diagnosed, when it is not possible to get the gametes of the spouses;
  • cannot use a single patient's own eggs during the IVF program;
  • IVF attempts have repeatedly failed, and the embryos after IVF were of poor quality, and pregnancy after their transfer to the uterus did not occur.

  The embryo donation program: stages

  Patients whose germ cells cannot be used for fertilization can choose either IVF with vitrified donor embryos, or IVF with donor oocytes and sperm. 

  IVF with vitrified donor embryos

  The program includes such stages as:

  • preparing the patient's endometrium for embryo implantation;
  • defrosting of the donor embryo and its transfer to the patient's uterine cavity; 
  • hormonal support for the luteal phase of the cycle.

  IVF with oocytes (fresh or vitrified) and vitrified donor sperm

  If the program is performed using fresh donor oocytes, it includes the following steps:

  • selection of egg and sperm donors from the AltraVita Clinic database based on important parameters for patients (blood type and RH factor, body type, weight, appearance, education, profession, etc.). An oocyte Donor can also be a relative or friend of the patient who meets the requirements contained in the order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 107n;
  • synchronization of the menstrual cycles of the patient and the egg donor;
  • stimulation of ovulation of the donor with the help of hormonal drugs;
  • puncture of follicles;
  • embryological stage (fertilization of donor oocytes with prepared donor sperm and cultivation of the resulting embryos in an incubator for several days);
  • transfer of 1 or 2 embryos to the patient's uterine cavity

  If the program is performed using vitrified donor oocytes, there is no need to prepare the donor and synchronize menstrual cycles.

  Thus, the program includes: 

  • preparation of the patient's endometrium;
  • defrosting of donor germ cells; 
  • embryological stage (fertilization of donor oocytes with prepared donor sperm and cultivation of the resulting embryos in an incubator for several days); 
  • transfer of 1 or 2 embryos to the patient's uterine cavity; 
  • support for the post-transfer period.

  Effectiveness of IVF programs with embryo donation

  Pregnancy as a result of IVF with donor embryos occurs on average in 45% of cases. The chances of success of IVF with donor oocytes and sperm are always higher than when using patients ' own gametes, due to the excellent quality of the donor genetic material.

  How much does the embryo donation IVF program cost?

  The cost will depend on which program the patients choose. If patients decide to enter the IVF program with oocytes and vitrified sperm from donors, the costs will increase. In this case, it matters whether vitrified or fresh eggs are used for fertilization. In the first case, IVF will cost less. Thus, the cost of the program depends on its complexity. The more stages the procedure involves, the higher the financial costs will be.

  Facts about IVF with embryo donation

  The IVF program with embryo donation is sometimes called «embryo adoption»/ Embryos do not lose their original properties after defrosting, since the use of modern vitrification method eliminates the possibility of damage to cell structures.

Cryobank