IVF with Both Donor Eggs and Donor Sperm in Russia

By double-donor IVF we refer to an assisted reproductive technology by which the embryos are created from an egg and sperms provided by donors, which is to say, non-related people to the intended parents.

Often, prospective parents find it difficult to cope with the fact they need donor gametes, as it implies giving up on the genetic material of both of them.

This is precisely the reason why double-donor IVF is considered as a last resort in most of the cases, and the last opportunity to achieve a couple's dream of becoming parents.

When may double-donor IVF be necessary?

There are many reasons why a person or couple may need to resort to third-party reproduction with both donor eggs and donor sperm.

A combination of male and female infertility issues, along with the absence of a partner, and the presence of alterations related to the partner, are the main reasons why double-donor IVF may be necessary. Some of the most common situations are:

• Genetic abnormalities likely to be passed to offspring
• Poor gamete quality
• Repeated fertilization or implantation failure
• Recurrent pregnancy loss
• Poor-quality embryos
• Absence of an opposite-sex partner

Keeping in mind that both gametes have been donated by young and healthy people, it is likely that the success rates are higher than those reached with previous treatments.

To sum up, we can conclude that high pregnancy success rates can be reached through double-donor IVF.

Donor conception characteristics in Russia

Within Russia, egg and sperm donors can be either anonymous or non-anonymous persons. Thus, the same provisions apply in the cases where both are used.

If the donors are known to the intended parents, they should be relatives or close friends of theirs. In accordance with the Russian federal law on Public Health Protection, skipping anonymity is not allowed if the candidate is not a close friend or relative of the intended parents.

Sperm donor and egg donor

If anonymous donation is the option of choice, neither the parents nor the unborn child will know about both donors identity. They can, if they so desire, ask for general information on the donors physical characteristics, health status, etc.

Only if it becomes necessary for exceptional medical reasons, donor identity disclosure will be allowed, although the fertility clinic or agency would act as an intermediary.

Donor recruitment and selection will be carried out by the gamete bank or fertility clinic where the patients are about to start their fertility cycle.

About the treatment to be followed

The protocol every woman who is about to become a mom should follow is the same as in IVF using donor eggs. Basically, it involves the preparation of the endometrium.

For the uterus to be in optimum conditions at the time of the embryo transfer and subsequent implantation, the endometrium or mucous membrane where implantation occurs must present the following characteristics:

• Triple line pattern
• Thickness of 7 to 10 mm

To meet these uterine conditions, women should take hormone medications through vaginal, oral, or patch route. Thanks to it, their endometrium will thicken up until it reaches the ideal characteristics for the embryo transfer to be successful.

In the very moment the uterus is prepared, the embryos created from the donated eggs and sperms will be transferred. High-quality embryos that are not transferred will be cryopreserved for future treatments.