In vitro fertilization (IVF) with sperm donation is an assisted reproduction technique used in cases of severe male infertility or for motherhood in single women and same sex female couples.
The process consists of the patient undergoing ovarian stimulation (by means of an injected hormonal treatment) in order to subsequently obtain a greater number of eggs in the egg retrieval, which is the surgical intervention to extract the eggs. The donor sperm is then thawed (all donor sperm samples are frozen for a minimum of 6 months) and processed.
Once the patient's eggs and the chosen donor sperm are obtained, they are united in the laboratory, i.e. fertilization is performed. This can be done conventionally or by ICSI. Since the sperm is of good quality, it is usual to perform the union by conventional IVF, although ICSI is increasingly being used.
Subsequently, one or two of the embryos generated are transferred to the patient's uterus after several days of embryonic development in the laboratory, waiting for one of them to implant and thus begin the pregnancy. Although the law in Spain allows the transfer of a maximum of 3 embryos, this practice is very rare.
