The presence of two women in the practice gives us more opportunities for reproductive medicine specialists to help get a baby. All the techniques have a common section which is the selection of the donor.
The sperm donor is selected according to the law, trying to find a similarity with the physical characteristics of the recipient woman. Race, skin color, hair color and texture, eye color, weight and height are usually taken into account. Recently, although this is optional and not all clinics do it, a sperm donor can be sought depending on the genetic characteristics of the woman who provides the egg. A genetic test can be done on the woman of the couple who contributes their eggs prior to the adjudication of the donor in order to try to make a match with the donor and thus avoid the appearance of any genetic disease in the future baby. Once the sperm donor has been selected, the following techniques can be used.
- Artificial donor insemination (AID)
- can be followed in the patient's natural cycle or a medication can be used to stimulate ovulation and at this point the donor sperm is introduced into the uterus. This technique is normally more recommended for women under 38 years of age.
- IVF with donor sperm
- the recipient woman is given ovarian stimulation to obtain several eggs. The eggs are extracted by means of a vaginal puncture in the operating theatre and so that they do not suffer any pain, they are given a small amount of sedation. The eggs obtained from the puncture are fertilized in the laboratory with the donor's sperm and an embryo is developed to the blastocyst stage (5 days of culture). Subsequently, an embryo is transferred to the interior of the uterus of the recipient woman.
- Reciprocal IVF
- is a form of shared motherhood. One of the two women contributes the eggs and the other is the mother who carries the pregnancy to term. To obtain the eggs and their fertilization, an IVF is performed with donor sperm and the embryos that have reached the blastocyst stage are transferred to the pregnant woman.
