Knowledge BaseSperm Donation
There are selected groups of patients to whom sperm donation is recommended. A couple wishes to have a child, the female partner appears to be fertile but her husband or the male partner have either a very poor sperm or no sperm in his semen. This could be due to vasectomy, testicular damage by chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer, inability to ejaculate normally or another irreversible male fertility factor. This is by far the most common group seeking donor insemination. The introduction of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) , surgical sperm retrieval and rectal electroejaculation procedures into in-vitro fertilization (IVF) programs, have helped many men to father their own children when only a few sperm are available. However, the high cost and complexity of these procedures put them beyond the means of many couples. A couple wishes to have a child, but there is a risk that the husband or male partner may pass on an inherited disease such as hemophilia and Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. Although antenatal fetal diagnosis is available for an increasing number of these conditions, termination of pregnancy remains unacceptable to many couples. Recent advanced in preimplantation genetic diagnosis has enabled couples to undergo IVF, preimplantation embryo biopsy and the transfer of normal embryos. However, the high cost and complexity of these procedures put them beyond the means of many couples. If the female partner is Rhesus (Rh) sensitized and the male partner is Rh positive (severe rhesus incompatibility). Donor insemination may also be used to treat single women or lesbian couples. The husband or male partner has an incurable sexually transmitted disease such as HIV.
