In certain cases, donor egg or donor sperm can provide an effective infertility treatment option. With egg or sperm donation, couples who are experiencing male or female factor infertility can begin or expand their families. Because donor services are an important component of our practice, we work with reputable egg donor and sperm donor agencies so that patients can choose from anonymous potential donors, or they can use a known donor. In addition, Dr. Douglas has particular skill and experience with egg donation and in-vitro fertilization, which enables IVF Plano to maintain high pregnancy success rates. During this process, Dr. Douglas will help you and your partner determine whether egg or sperm donation could help create your family. To learn more about donor services, Contact our office today.

Egg Donor Information When to Consider Donor Gametes Donor screening process Donor Eggs and Sperm Working with Donor Agencies Become a Donor Donor Embryos

When to Consider Donor Gametes to Increase the Odds of Getting Pregnant

Deciding to use donor gametes is a very personal decision; for some couples, the choice is an easy one, for others it can become a long, soul searching process. Dr. Douglas and the staff at IVF Plano will help you with this decision by providing the technical information that you will need as well as a friendly, supportive ear.
We usually begin to discuss using donor gametes with couples who fall into certain diagnosis types. Although the following list is in no way complete, we find that the use of donor gametes in these cases can significantly increase the odds of a term pregnancy.

Candidates for using donor gametes may include:

• Couples who have had previous failed IVF cycles
  
• Couples who have responded poorly to fertility medications
  
• Couples with a known history of inheritable genetic diseases
  
• Couples with non- functional or very low sperm counts
  
• Single woman or same-sex couples
  
• Women who have entered menopause or are undergoing premature menopause
  
• Women who have had their ovaries surgically removed
  
• Women with premature ovarian failure
  
• Women with poor egg quality or diminished ovarian reserve

Benefits of Donor Gametes
For some couples who have been unable to conceive, donor eggs or sperm can provide an effective infertility treatment option and enable these couples to begin or expand their families. Using donor gametes can allow a couple the experience of carrying a pregnancy, providing a direct genetic connection to the baby by one parent, while still increasing the odds for a successful pregnancy.

Egg Donation Success Rates
In 2007, national statistics for all clinics show that IVF with donor eggs had live birth rates of 55 percent. Presbyterian Hospital ARTS Program maintains high egg donation success rates, which has made us one of the most reputable fertility centers in the nation. Dr. Douglas and IVF Plano have a 67 percent live pregnancy rate using donor eggs.

To view national IVF success rates, visit http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ART/NSR.aspx?SelectedYear=

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Egg Donation Screening Process

For couples who are considering using donor eggs or sperm, understanding the screening process for the donors can offer reassurance.

Egg Donor Screening Process
Most egg donors are women between 21 and 30 years of age. Women who donate eggs have the amazing opportunity to help people who cannot produce healthy eggs achieve a pregnancy and expand their families. Egg donors can be family members, friends, or anonymous donors. When patients choose anonymous donors, our practice works with several agencies here in Dallas and around Texas that can help pick the perfect donor.

Egg donors undergo careful and extensive screening for infectious diseases, medical background, and other factors. Candidates must also undergo a psychological evaluation and gynecological examination, as well as a family history assessment, before donating eggs. To ensure the safety of the donor, parent, and potential child, the FDA mandates screening requirements for egg donors.

Egg Donor Screening Process

• Donor interview and medical history
  
• Blood testing
  
• Sonogram for antral follicle count (AFC) and gynecologic examination
  
• Psychological evaluation
  
• Infectious disease screening (IDS) lab work

Once couples select the egg donor that suits their needs, the IVF process can begin.

Sperm Donors Screening Process
Sperm donors are usually anonymous and between 18 to 40 years of age. Men that are over the age of 40 are usually not considered for sperm donation so that we can minimize any issues that arise from the normal aging process.

The sperm banks that work with IVF Plano gather an extensive medical history on the donor as well as his family. Common information gathered on sperm donors includes: education, physical characteristics, hobbies, and interests. A sperm donor will also undergo a series of blood tests to minimize the risk of transmitting a communicable disease. As an extra precaution, all sperm samples must be quarantined for a minimum of six months prior to use. After the six-month period ends, the donor is re-tested for diseases; if the tests come back negative; the sperm sample is released for use.

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Using Egg Donations for IVF Treatments

With egg donation, the eggs from another woman are fertilized with sperm and transferred into the uterus of the infertile woman, who will then carry out the pregnancy. Donor eggs are only used with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures and make up a significant part of our practice.

Egg Donation for IVF
Although complicated, IVF through egg donation produces extremely successful results for infertile couples. During the egg donation for IVF process, the egg recipient (intended mother) is placed on hormone therapy. By giving the recipient controlled amounts of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, Dr. Douglas can determine precisely when the uterus is best able to accept the embryos.

The egg donor undergoes gonadotropin stimulation to cause multiple eggs to grow and mature within her ovaries. Once mature, Dr Douglas will remove the eggs from the donor’s ovaries by a procedure called oocyte retrieval. We usually look for 10 to 15 eggs per donor, per cycle. Next, we will fertilize the eggs with the sperm and have them grow to become embryos. Three to five days after fertilization, Dr. Douglas transfers the embryos in to the uterus of the recipient.

In most patient undergoing egg donation IVF, you can achieve a positive pregnancy test as early as 11 days after the embryo transfer.

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Donor Sperm Services for Artificial Insemination (IUI) and In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) Procedures

Patients can utilize donor sperm for either artificial insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures.
Artificial insemination (IUI) through donor sperm is a highly effective alternative for couples dealing with male factor infertility. Like egg donation, sperm donation uses healthy sperm from a known or anonymous 18- to 35-year-old male. We will fertilize the egg through intrauterine insemination (IUI), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), or IVF procedures. Because of recent technological developments, IUI and IVF using sperm donation have a relatively high success rate.

California Cryobank is our preferred provider of donated sperm. Please review the simple steps below to receive donated sperm.

1. Visit California Cryobank’s Web site www.cryobank.com and set up a New Patient Account. Use the following link to complete the registration process.
   http://cryobank.com/My-Account/index.cfm?login
   
2. Complete the Authorization for Release of Semen (A1 form) located on the Cryobanks site and fax the completed form to our office at 972-612-9601.
   
3. After completing this step, you can access the online sperm catalog to choose your donor. Please note: we ONLY accept “IUI ready” specimens for use in inseminations.
   
4. Set up shipping of the specimens so that we receive the shipment on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday ONLY. Shipping on any other day may result in the loss of your specimen.
   
5. Patients may only ship one specimen per cycle to our office.
   
6. IVF Plano will return the cryotank to California Cryobank after the procedure.

Read more about Third Party Reproduction (Sperm, egg, and embryo donation and surrogacy) - an ASRM Guide

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IVF Plano Recommended Donor Agencies

Many patients wonder how to select a donor and what traits to consider. In actuality, the answer varies. Some couples want a potential child to have physical characteristics similar to their own. For others, educational or common interests take precedence. In many cases, especially for those couples facing inheritable family diseases, the medical and genetic history of the donor is the most important factor.

We work with various reputable egg donor agencies so that patients can choose from a wide selection of anonymous potential egg donors. Or if couples prefer, they can use a known donor for the procedure.

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Donor Agencies

SSA Donor Agency
Contact Kathy Stern
214-752-4772
www.ssa-agency.com

Fertility Resources
Contact Wendy Froman
713-783-7044
www.fertilityresourceshouston.com

Donor Sperm Agencies
California Cryobank
11915 La Grange Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Ph (866) 927-9622 or (310) 443-5244
www.cryobank.com

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Become an Egg Donor

Serving as a donor for an infertile couple is a selfless gift. If you would like more information about donating your eggs, please contact one of our agency partners from the preceding list.

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Using Adopted Donor Embryos

Donor embryos are an alternative therapy for those couples who have financial difficulties when facing the need for IVF procedures. Using adopted embryos can represent a viable and less costly option, but will not provide a direct genetic link to either parent.

After completing successful IVF cycles, many couples may have extra frozen embryos that remain in laboratory cold storage. Deciding what to do with these additional embryos can represent a difficult decision for couples who have completed their family. Embryo donation provides a positive alternative to discarding embryos or having them remain in storage indefinitely.

Adopting an embryo can be a rewarding, successful experience for patients and their partners. Please schedule an appointment to discuss your options with Dr Douglas so that IVF Plano can help you achieve the best possible outcome. Remember that”

• Adopted embryos should come from couples where the woman was less than 35 at the time of cryopreservation and the embryos have been frozen for less than 8 years.
  
• Donating couples should have received an initial infectious disease screening as well as an additional screening when the embryos are released for adoption.
  
• The adopting couple, as well as the donating couple, should seek legal adoption advice and create the proper documents before the transfer of the embryo(s).

Read more aboutGamete Donation Deciding to Tell - an ASRM Guide

For more information, visit Snowflakes Embryo Adoptions:
http://www.nightlight.org/adoption-services/snowflakes-embryo/adopting-parents.aspx

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