Donor eggs and sperm

Genea offers donor eggs and sperm as an option, providing a supportive and inclusive treatment program for patients using donated eggs or sperm. Our dedicated team will guide you through the process.

Selecting the right clinic

When considering donation, ensure you research a clinic’s success rates, science and quality of care. If you are going to all the effort of finding a donor, you want to maximise your chance of creating a baby. 8 out of 10 patients wish they came to us first^* and Genea Hollywood's exclusive world leading Geri^® incubation system has resulted in a 12.2% increase in the number of live births when compared to the traditional incubator and culture medium system^**.

Regulation of donation

Egg and sperm donation treatment is regulated by state legislation, industry requirements, NH&MRC guidelines and clinic policies and protocols. These may vary between Genea locations, dependent on state legislation.
 
Genea believes it is important for both medical and psychosocial reasons that a child is able to know his or her genetic origins. The law in most clinic locations requires that donor offspring are able to access identifying information about their donor (if unknown) when they turn 18. There is also state and clinic regulations that limits the total number of families of an individual donor (including their own) to between 5 and 10.
 
All patients and their partners (where applicable) accessing donor treatment will be required to undergo counselling with one of our accredited counsellors. For known donation the counselling will mean a session for the recipient (and partner); the donor (and partner) and a subsequent joint session of all. If using a bank donor there will typically be one counselling session for the recipient (and partner).

State register

Please be aware that in all locations other than the ACT, there is a requirement that donor births are reported to a State register. This includes identifying details of the donor.

Transparency

Both recipients and donors are required to disclose all matters reasonably relevant to donation (e.g. mental and physical health, relationships, reproductive history, substance use etc.). 

The Process

The process of undergoing donor treatment will vary depending on whether you are using eggs or sperm from your known donor or an unknown (bank) donor.

Known donor - eggs or sperm

If you are using a known donor, your first step is a consultation with your Genea Hollywood Fertility Specialist for both you and your donor. Your doctor will arrange for various tests to be done and refer you for counselling. Once you have seen a Fertility Specialist, you will contact our counsellors to book appointments.
 
A nurse interview will also be required and this can be arranged at any time after counselling has been initiated, but preferably as close to treatment as possible. Separate appointments will be required for you and your donor. Donated sperm must be quarantined for a minimum of 4 months before you can use it. For eggs, you can choose to waive this quarantine if you prefer.
 
After the nurse interview, and once all paper work has been signed, and after quarantine (if applicable), treatment can begin.

Finding a known donor

Patients using known donors find them amongst family, friends and acquaintances or through the internet or advertising. Genea recommends that known egg donors are preferably under the age of 35 years and have also completed their own families.