The donation of oocytes or sperm in a heterologous assisted fertilization treatment

One of the major difficulties in proceeding with heterologous PMA in Italy is the lack of donors of oocytes and sperm. Most of the gametes used for heterologous PMA techniques in Italy come from abroad and in particular from Spain.

Why in Italy are there not, or are there very few gametes available to be donated to couples who need them?

In Italy there are practically no oocyte banks, and there are very few male ones. The underlying reason lies above all in the fact that there is no remuneration for those who take this step, as happens instead in other European countries.

“The donation of reproductive cells to be used in the field of heterologous medically assisted procreation techniques is a voluntary, altruistic, free act, interested only in the “good of the reproductive health” of another couple “.

So why should a young woman voluntarily undergo hormonal treatment and an operation in the operating room under anesthesia to donate her oocytes?

Although semen donation is much easier, there are very few donors here as well.

Can I become a gamete donor?

There is an age limit:

• males must be of legal age and under the age of 40
• women must be no less than 20 years of age and no more than 35 years of age.

The characteristics of a donor

Males can donate who:

• are in good general health and capable of understanding and wanting
• are not carriers of hereditary and familial diseases
• can provide information on the state of health of the biological parents (therefore a donor cannot have been adopted, nor conceived in turn by gamete donors, nor the child of an unknown father or mother)

Furthermore:

• The donor should undergo psychological counseling,
• No doctor or operator or owner of the center can be a gamete donor
• men who are exposed to toxic substances for work are excluded from the donation
• men who have undergone and concluded a course of chemotherapy or radiotherapy for less than 2 years are excluded from the donation.

In addition to a detailed anamnesis, potential donors are subjected to a series of analyzes which also include genetic and infectious diseases to prove their state of health.

We should also consider donors who have semen that has values ​​above the 50th percentile of the  WHO references  (remember that normality is given for values ​​above the 5th percentile)

The characteristics of a donor

A woman who decides to donate her oocytes must undergo ovarian stimulation (to obtain the maturation of as many oocytes as possible) and oocyte pick-up .

It is a much more invasive procedure than the one a male must undergo for the donation of his gametes.

As with males, females can donate

• are in good general health and capable of understanding and wanting
• are not carriers of hereditary and familial diseases
• can provide information on the health of the biological parents (therefore a donor cannot have been adopted, nor conceived in turn by gamete donors, nor the child of an unknown father or mother)

Furthermore:

• The donor should undergo psychological counseling,
• No doctor or operator or owner of the center can be a gamete donor
• women who are exposed to toxic substances for work are excluded from the donation
• women who have undergone and completed a course of chemotherapy or radiotherapy for less than 2 years are excluded from the donation.

In addition to a detailed anamnesis, potential donors are subjected to a series of analyzes which also include genetic and infectious disease tests to verify their state of health.

The anonymity of gamete donors

The donation must be anonymous: it is not possible for the donor to trace the recipient couple and vice versa.

In the event of health problems in the offspring, it is possible for the healthcare personnel (but not for the recipient couple) to trace the clinical data of the donor or donor.

Donation limit

No more than 10 children in total can be born from one donor. The only exception is when a couple already has a child with that donor via PMA and wishes to use the donor gametes for a new pregnancy as well.