Incidence of and indications for sperm donor restriction - analysis of patients continuing treatment: a retrospective single-centre study.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the incidence of and indications for sperm donor restriction due to suspected/confirmed disease risk, and the future treatment choices of patients using these sperm donors? DESIGN: This single-centre retrospective study involved donors who had restrictions on the use of their imported spermatozoa from January 2010 to December 2019, and current or previous recipients. Indications for sperm restriction and the characteristics of patients undergoing medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatment with these specimens at the time of restriction were collected. Differential characteristics of women who decided on whether or not to contintue the procedure were assessed. Characteristics potentially leading to treatment continuation were identified. RESULTS: Of 1124 sperm donors identified, 200 (17.8%) were restricted, most commonly for multifactorial (27.5%) and autosomal recessive (17.5%) disorders. The spermatozoa had been used for 798 recipients, of whom 172, receiving spermatozoa from 100 donors, were informed about the restriction and constituted the 'decision cohort'. The specimens from the restricted donors were accepted by 71 (approximately 40%) patients, with 45 (approximately 63%) eventually using the restricted donor for their future MAR treatment. The odds of accepting the restricted spermatozoa decreased with increasing age (OR 0.857, 95% CI 0.800-0.918, P < 0.001) and the time between MAR treatment and the restriction date (OR 0.806, 95% CI 0.713-0.911, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Donor restriction due to suspected/confirmed disease risk is relatively frequent. This affected a relevant number of women (around 800), of whom 172 (approximately 20%) had to decide whether or not to use these donors further. Although donor screening is being performed thoroughly, there remain health risks for donor children. Realistic counselling of all stakeholders involved is necessary.

Anonymous sperm donors' attitude towards donation and the release of identifying information.

INTRODUCTION: Belgian legislation allows only strictly anonymous gamete donation and known donation (donation to a recipient known by the donor). Recently, an amendment of the legislation was proposed to grant donor offspring, as of 18 years old, the right to claim identifying information about their donor. PURPOSE: The aim is to explore the attitude of actual sperm donors towards donation and the release of identifying information and to investigate which donors would be willing to donate when anonymity would be prohibited by law. METHODS: All men who were accepted as sperm donors (n = 242) by AZ Jan Palfijn Hospital (Ghent, Belgium) were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. The response rate was 65.5%. RESULTS: One in five (20.1%; n = 30) would continue sperm donation upon a legislation change towards identifiable donation. Three in four donors (75.2%) would agree to provide basic non-identifiable information about themselves and one in three (32.9%) would provide extra non-identifiable information such as a baby photo or a personal letter. Almost half of the donors (45.6%) would agree to donate in a system where the hospital can trace the donor at the child's request and contact the donor, leaving it to the donor to decide whether or not to have contact with the requesting donor child. CONCLUSION: These findings show that only one in five current donors would continue to donate when identifiable. The study also demonstrates that current donors think more positive about alternative options and that nearly half of them are willing to be contacted by the hospital at the donor child's request, providing the donor can decide at that time whether or not to release his identity.

Clinical variables affecting the pregnancy rate of intracervical insemination using cryopreserved donor spermatozoa: a retrospective study in china.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate whether several clinical variables can affect the pregnancy rate of intracervical insemination (ICI) using cryopreserved donor spermatozoa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, age, years of infertility, cervicitis, urinary luteinizing hormone (LH) surge, insemination number, uterus position, endometrial thickness and morphology, maximal follicle diameter, and the number of dominant follicles on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) administration were retrospectively analyzed in 501 women who underwent their first ICI cycle using cryopreserved donor spermatozoa. RESULTS: Increased age, length of infertility (>5 years), retroverted uterine position, and endometrial thickness (<7 mm or >14 mm) were associated with lower rates of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: In older women with infertile periods longer than five years, especially those with a retroverted uterus, intrauterine insemination (IUI) combined with ovarian stimulation should be recommended. in vitro fertilization with donor spermatozoa (IVFD) should be offered earlier to achieve a much higher success rate.

Anonimato e segredo na reprodução humana com participação de doador: mudanças em perspectivas / Anonymity and secrecy in human reproduction with donor participation: shifts in perspectives

As tecnologias reprodutivas, ao separar a sexualidade da reprodução, interferiram não somente nas relações entre os sexos, mas também nas relações de filiação, possibilitando o surgimento de configurações familiares decorrentes do acesso a material genético de terceiros (doadores de óvulos, sêmen ou embrião). O segredo e o anonimato que sempre envolveram os doadores de gametas têm sido desafiados. Nos últimos vinte anos, diversos países alteraram sua legislação adotando a identidade aberta do doador de material genético. A possibilidade de conhecer e ter acesso a esta identidade (chegando à maioridade) ou mesmo a busca por meios irmãos pode ser uma realidade em muitos países para crianças nascidas por meio do acesso à tecnologia reprodutiva. O artigo enfatiza a questão do segredo e do anonimato envolvendo o uso de material genético de terceiros em tecnologias reprodutivas. A discussão é explorada por meio do debate ocorrido no Reino Unido relativo à abolição do anonimato e suas implicações sob a perspectiva dos doadores, dos casais demandantes e da criança concebida. O estudo reflete ainda sobre as concepções de família envolvidas nessa discussão.

Reproductive technologies, when separating sexu ality from reproduction, interfered not only in the relationships between the sexes, but also in the relationships of filiation, enabling the emergence of family settings due to the access to genetic ma terial from others (egg, semen or embryo donors). The secrecy and anonymity that have always in volved gamete donors have been challenged. In the last twenty years, various countries changed their legislation, adopting the policy of open identity of the donor of the genetic material. The possibility to know and have access to this identity (when reach ing adulthood) or even the search for half-brothers can be a reality in many countries for children born through access to reproductive technology. The article emphasizes the matter of secrecy and ano nymity involving the use of genetic material from others in reproductive technologies. The argument is set up through the debate in the United Kingdom concerning the abolition of the anonymity and its implications under the perspective of donors, claim ant couples and the child. The study also reflects on the conceptions of family involved in this debate.