News flash - sperm donors

[drichards]

Thanks for the news flash about the guy who donated sperm, as he said in all good faith and thought he was covered by the regulations as other donors.
What a lesson to learn the hard way!

What really got me was the scathing report by Jan Moir in the Telegraph as a follow up story. I have never read such an ill informed account about a very serious issue. Maybe she should have done some research before calling donors "Quite creepy people" and what kind of men agree to such arrangements which neither provide them with all the fun of fatherhood and none of the responsibility".

Are you off your head Jan Moir?
Do you not realise that male infertility is more common than female, try having cancer and coming to terms with not being able to have children - as you put it normally with; "soft candlelight and sweet music", HOW PATRONISING....
Has she any idea the heartache that a couple wanting a family has to endure?

In my mind the donor is a saviour - To be able to donate legally he goes to a specialist clinic which is very closely monitored by a regulatory body. In the UK it is the HFEA, the US its MHPG/ASRM, Canada, Australia and many others all have these organisations. Canada and others make it mandatory for the donor prior to donation to undertake a host of precedures and assessments including psychological, as (I am told) is the case in most UK clinics.
I understand the programme also includes blood and sperm analysis, after donation the sperm is quarantined for 6 mths. and before it is used the donor has to have further blood tests, screened again.

The reporter asks; "Don't they ever stop to think about the emotional snares these children must endure once they start to grow up".
I am aware there are other postings on this site on this subject - not to bore you in telling you my journey, in brief anyone going down this road will know we need support which often comes through family and friends (although not many!) and professional support to inform us of the (what she says) "emotional snares" so we are fully informed about the many emotional issues there are and thereafter developing/learning new parenting skills whether we are the donor (they will no doubt have thier own family) or the recipients. This is often a long journey for all of us.

But surely the most important thing we can offer our children and I mean our children is "unconditional love" and thankfully there are men out there that put themselves through a lot to help the likes of me and my family to do just that .



   

[Martina22]

Well said. M

[mensfe_admin]

TIMES
Science thinks big for better IVF is the headline in the Times. A new technique called
"Intra-Cytoplsmic Morphology-Selected Sperm Injection"  (IMSI)
can double the chances of a successful pregnancy, the newspaper says. IMSI involves "examining sperm under a high-magnification microscope, about five times more powerful than a standard laboratory equipment, to select those with a shape and size that indicates good genetic quality. The best looking sperm is then injected into the eggs.

[mensfe_admin]

Hi Again - I think I put this news flash on 48hrs ago and it has had aprox. 400 hits - So.. I thought in view of the interest, here is more on this report.

IMSI

The news flash is based on a trial which showed the overall pregnancy rate in the IMSI group of 39.2% compared to 26-5% in the conventional care group. This new technique appears promising and may offer hope of improving the rate of pregnancy for some infertile couples. Reports of the long term outcome from this study, including the healthy baby rate will be needed, as well as an assessment of the cost and reprducibility of the technique in other countries, special equipment and treatment.

The research was conducted by Dr. Monica Antinori and colleagues from The International Associated Research Institute of Human Reproduction in Rome. It was published in the peer revue medical journal: "Reproduction Bio Medicine Online".

(we have the Methodology of this study in which 446 couples took place and would be happy to "post" if requested).

What interpretation did the researchers draw from these results (asked the Times)?

The researchers conclude that to the best of their knowledge, "this paper is so far the only prospective randomised study showing that IMSI is significantly more beneficial than ICSI on all patients with severe "Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia" (OAT) (i), regardless of the number of previous IVF failures"

They add that in the future IMSI could be recommended as a routine IVF technique to solve complicated male fertility cases from the first attempt.

What does the NHS think of it?
Well as one can imagine cost is a factor however they concluded by saying:

"This artichle appears promising and may offer the hope of improving the rates of pregnancy for selective infertile couples. Reports on the long term outcomes to this study includes the healthy baby rate this is needed as well as an assessment of the cost an reproducibility of the technique in other countries".

Mensfe will be devoting a section to IMSI on this web site soon.
However please do not hesitate to ask any questions to our panel of clinicians on this or any other related issues.

(i)  Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) this condition is the most common cause of male sub-infertility and includes three abnormalities:

(1) Low sperm count (2) Poor sperm movement (3) Abnormal sperm shape.