3rd Party Reproduction

Donor Eggs

What is Donor Egg?

• When there is a complete lack of eggs or when eggs are of a poor quality, donor eggs are used.
• About half of all donor egg cycles are harvested from family members or close friends in India.
• In the case of donor eggs, while chances of pregnancy are similar to that of conventional IVF, the donor’s age is a key factor that impacts success rates.

Donating Eggs may result in temporary bloating. A rare condition known as Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome may occur if the Egg Donor over-stimulates.

What is the basic procedure of Donating Eggs?

A woman donating eggs may go through the following steps:

• The steps followed for an IVF stimulation procedure are followed until the eggs are collected.
• The eggs are then donated to the recipient couple. The donor egg is then fertilised with the recipient partner’s sperm.
• Alongside, the recipient also receives hormonal drugs so that her ‘cycle’ is synchronised and her uterus is ready for implantation of the transferred embryo.
• The donor as well as the recipient must go through counselling as there are medical risks in the case of IVF.

Who benefits from egg donation?

Donating Eggs can help the struggling couples to have baby. Donated eggs are needed by women who may have:

• A premature menopause.
• Ovaries damaged by chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment for cancer.
• Been born without functioning ovaries.
• Ovaries resistant to stimulation by the pituitary hormones.
• A high risk of passing on genetic disorders to their offspring.
• Poorly functioning ovaries as they get older.

Sperm Donor

What is a sperm donor?

• Sperm donation is the provision by a male (known as a sperm donor) of his sperm (known as donor sperm), principally for the purpose of inseminating a female who is not his sexual partner.
• Sperm may be donated privately and directly to the intended recipient, or through a sperm bank or fertility clinic.

Why is there a need for sperm donation?

There are a number of reasons explaining the need for donated sperm. These include:

• Cancer treatment, vasectomy, injury, or other male fertility factors resulting in there being no sperm in the partner’s semen.
• An inherited disease, such as haemophilia putting the life of a resulting baby at risk.
• Incompatible blood types e.g. if the female partner is Rhesus (Rh) sensitised and the male partner is Rh positive, the pregnancy is potentially problematic.
• Providing treatment for single women or female same-sex couples.

Surrogacy

Who is a Surrogate Mother?

The host or surrogate mother is a woman who agrees to carry and deliver the baby for you.

There are two kinds of Surrogate mother:

Traditional Surrogate:-

• A woman artificially inseminated with the donor sperm or the birth father’s sperm.
• The surrogate mother then carries the baby until birth.
• As it’s her egg that was fertilized by the father or donor sperm, the surrogate mother is the biological mother of the child.

Gestational Surrogate:-

• The technique called “in vitro fertilization” (IVF) makes it possible to gather eggs from the mother, fertilize them with sperm from the father or donor, and place the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate.
• The surrogate parent then carries the baby until birth. As it wasn’t surrogate mother’s egg that was used, she doesn’t have any genetic ties to the child.
• The surrogate mother is originally the “birth mother,” and the biological mother is the woman whose egg has been fertilized.

What is Surrogacy?

• Surrogacy is an arrangement between a lady and a couple or an individual to bear and deliver a child.
• It means to rent the womb of a healthy woman till the delivery.
• It is often used when a woman or couple are incapable of conceiving due to an absent or abnormal uterus, have encountered multiple pregnancy losses, or have had multiple failed IVF attempts.

Why is Surrogacy used?

Surrogacy may be the best solution to parenthood if below problems is coming in the way of pregnancy:

• Failed IVF Treatment
• Repeated Miscarriages
• Failed Embryo implantation treatment
• Absence or malformation of the uterus
• Hysterectomy or a pelvic dysfunction
• Absenteeism of or a damaged uterus
• Severe heart condition, liver disease or high blood pressure, or any other medical condition that would make a possible pregnancy a serious health risk for the woman

Legalities Related to Surrogacy:-

• Eligibility criteria for the particular couple:

The couple should have a ‘certificate of essentiality’ and a ‘certificate of eligibility’ issued by the relevant authority.

A certificate of essentiality will be given upon fulfillment of the following requirements:

1. A certificate of proven infertility of one or both members of the couple from a District Medical Board;
2. Issuing of an order of parenting charge and custody of the surrogate child passed by a Magistrate’s court, and
3. Insurance cover for the surrogate mother

The certificate of eligibility is issued upon fulfillment of the following conditions by the couple:

1. They should be Indian citizens and married for at least five years;
2. Age requirement of the couple is between 23 to 50 years old for females and 26 to 55 years old for the males;
3. That they do not have any surviving child (biological, adopted or surrogate); this, however, does not include any child who is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from life-threatening disorders/fatal illness.

Eligibility guidelines for the surrogate mother:

To obtain a certificate of eligibility from the appropriate authority, the surrogate mother should be:

1. A close relative of the couple
2. A married woman having a child of her own
3. 25 to 35 years old
4. Taking up surrogacy only once in her lifetime and
5. Have a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy.