donate ovocytes or embryos? Contact us through www.eiceldonor.be. Or call Consultation CRG on the main line +32 2 477 66 99 The Consultation Department can also provide you all relevant information about obtaining donor material.

Be a sperm donor? Contact us through www.spermadonor.be or call the Andrology Lab +32 2 477 66 52

The demand

 

All people who rely on medical assistance in order to become pregnant have one thing in common: they really want a(nother) child. However for some, the only chance of fulfilling their wish is by the use of donated sperm, eggs or embryos. Others still, have the material at their disposal which could be used to help these people. At the CRG, we try to bring these two groups together when possible.

 

Two specific groups of patients who rely on donor material are single women and lesbian couples who want children. They can make use of donor sperm to fulfil their wish for a child. For the other patients, the need for donor material is largely due to two conditions: either there are no reproductive cells of their own available (the man or the woman is infertile) or the cells available are not suitable for use (either the man or the woman or both have some form of hereditary genetic abnormality).
If the man does not produce sperm cells, meaning that medically assisted conception methods such as artificial insemination or IVF/ICSI are not possible, AID (artificial insemination with the use of donor sperm) forms a viable alternative.
Similarly, in some cases, the woman does not produce sufficient egg cells, even though her partners' sperm is normal and healthy. The most significant cause of this is premature menopause: the early failure of ovarian function (before the age of fourty). Other reasons for the lack of egg cells could be that the ovaries have been removed or were damaged due to cancer treatment. Another situation could be that the woman does produce egg cells, but that they are not suitable for use. Once a woman passes the age of 43, her own genetic material is no longer used for any form of medically assisted fertilization. The chance of the treatment being successful would then be too small (0.5%) to justify it. In all the above cases, egg donation may be considered as a possible solution.
There are couples in which the fertility problem is a combination of factors affecting both the man and the woman. These people can possibly be helped by embryo donation.

      

Concerning donor sperm demand and supply are more or less balanced, partly thanks to the fact that we can rely on foreign sperm banks like the Danish Cryos as well. Nevertheless our centre is continually looking for new donors. The greater and more varied the supply, the better the selection for the recipient couple. Furthermore, due to the growing number of patients that appeal to medically assisted fertilization the demand steadily grows, which increases the risk for a shortage. Our campaign 'Become a Sperman!' fits in with the efforts of the CRG to provide an answer to this issue. Visit www.spermadonor.be if you wish additional information.

As far as donor eggs and embryos are concerned however, there is a critical shortage. As a result of this, the CRG is actively seeking women and couples who are willing to help solve this problem. The campaign 'There is more in you' fits in with this search. Surf to www.eiceldonor.be if you want to learn more about this.
Initially couples who undergo an IVF treatment themselves are drawn on for the recruitment of potential egg donors. For example, women who produce more ripe eggs than they need for their own treatment can donate some of them immediately after the egg pick-up. This principle is known as 'egg sharing' or 'partial donation'. Couples who have a surplus of healthy embryos after successful treatment and have no need for them anymore (e.g. because their child wish is fulfilled) may also decide to donate them to (an)other couple(s).
A specific demographic group amongst these potential donor patients are those who have need for donor material themselves, in this case donor sperm. Through a system of 'solidarity donation' the CRG tries to motivate these women to act as egg donor, even partially.
However, the CRG is also always actively looking for 'voluntary' donors, i.e. women without any infertility problems of their own but who are willing to follow that part of the treatment required to allow the 'harvesting' of ripe eggs. In most cases, a volunteer is found by the couple who need treatment by egg donation, but the CRG also tries to encourage healthy young women from outside the IVF circuit to volunteer as egg donors.

   
Anonymous or not?
A general rule is that the donors are not told who the recipients will be, and vice-versa. To be sure the new legislation (2007) concerning assisted fertilization and everything related leaves open the option for known donation, but nevertheless implies in the formulation of the rules altogether a marked preference for anonymity. A specific situation in which this general rule may be waived is that of egg donation, i.e. if the recipient couple explicitly chooses their own egg donor or the donor offers to help a speci?c couple. This is known as 'named donation'.
However, there are also cases where several couples each provide a donor and the donors are exchanged among the group. This 'exchange donation' system allows couples to ?nd donors among their own families or friends, while still safeguarding the principle of anonymity. See 'Named donation versus exchange donation'  for the reason why this may be important.

    
Strict selection and genetic screening
Obviously, not everyone is a suitable donor. All donors need to undergo rigorous medical screening before they are approved as donors. For example, a detailed family history is mapped out and analysed thoroughly to identify recurring characteristics. General factors such as life expectancy, physical health, mental stability, etc. are important here.
The preliminary testing procedures include determination of the donor's blood group and rhesus factor and the blood is also tested for the presence of infections such as hepatitis (jaundice) and HIV (the aids virus).
A phenotype profile is compiled of every sperm donor. This involves the donor's characteristics, i.e. hair and eye colour, skin colour, build, etc. When donor sperm is used, great care is always taken to ensure that the donor's blood group and as many physical characteristics as possible match those of the recipient couple.

Unfortunately, this strict phenotype selection is not possible in cases of egg and embryo donation because the supply of donors is too limited and the treatment too complex. Furthermore, volunteer egg and embryo donors can only be recruited from among women up to the age of 35 years. Exceptions to this rule are only made in certain cases of named donation and with the recipient couple's explicit permission.

  

Double checks after six months
All donated sperm, eggs and embryos are subjected to extensive medical screening too. Naturally, this includes genetic screening to avoid congenital disorders. Frozen sperm is always stored for at least six months before use. This precaution is taken because some infections, especially HIV, can only be detected during this period. Repeating the screening processes after this period and before the sperm is used allows the CRG to guarantee that the donor sperm is healthy.

Such a double check didn't used to be possible for egg cells. Until recently, egg cells couldn't be frozen, so egg cell donation was always done with fresh material. Of course the donors underwent the same medical and genetic screening as the donors of semen or embryo's, but the egg cells couldn't be kept in quaratine for several months to give them a guaranteed infection-free status.

That has changed: with a technique called vitrification, egg cells can now also be frozen. However, this technique is still in an experimtental phase, so it will not completely replace the use of fresh egg cells for the time being. We would therefore like to emphasize again that all available precautions are also taken when fresh egg cells are used in order to reduce the chance of infection of the egg cells to virtually zero. 

     

In Belgium, the law makes no distinction between couples who conceive naturally and couples who use donor sperm, eggs or embryos. The woman who gives birth to the child is always the legal mother. If the woman is married, her husband is automatically the legal father. If the woman is unmarried, her partner may voluntarily acknowledge the child and thus become the legal father.
That is why your embryos, sperm or eggs cannot be used to help other couples without your written consent. You will have to complete and sign a form before any treatment can begin. By doing so, you relinquish your sperm and eggs, they are no longer yours.
The woman or couple accepting the donor material as well are required to sign a form confirming that they accept it.

Click on consent forms to view the various documents.