The Waterstone Clinic Donor Sperm Programme offers fertility treatments to single women; same-sex female couples; and heterosexual couples. Heterosexual couples may wish to use donor sperm if they have a male factor infertility issue, have had repeated failed ICSI or TESE cycles due to suboptimal sperm quality, or if a male partner is a carrier for a genetic abnormality that could be inherited.
We have helped hundreds of patients become parents through our donor sperm programme. Following your fertility investigations and considering your individual situation, the clinicians will recommend a particular treatment. Usually, this is either IUI treatment, IVF treatment or same-sex female couples may wish to pursue Shared Motherhood treatment.
After meeting with the doctor to discuss your plans, you will meet with the donor sperm team, who will coordinate the process and guide you through each step. Your first appointments will be with the Donor Sperm Coordinator, who will help you understand the process of choosing a donor, and with our fertility counsellor for an implications counselling session to discuss the process of using a donor to build your family.
As part of the Donor Sperm programme, patients will work with the Donor Sperm Coordinator to use the sperm banks’ databases to choose a donor. Waterstone Clinic uses sperm from identifiable donors from Cyros International Sperm Bank, and the European Sperm Bank.
The donor databases offer profiles of the donors, including demographics (i.e., hair colour, height, race, etc.), and extended profiles provided by the donor.
Waterstone Clinic imports sperm from identifiable donors only. (Irish legislation (The Children & Family Relationships Act, 2015) prohibits the use of non-identifiable or “anonymous” donors.)
All donors have to go through a rigorous screening process. Only 5% of men who apply to become donate are accepted to become donors.
The screening process includes:
After the first screening, potential donors will have their semen and blood tested a second time six months later while all samples are quarantined. When all the screening tests are passed as clear, the potential donor will be accepted onto the programme and become available on the database.
Once you have chosen your donor, the team will import the sperm samples to the Clinic for your treatment. From when you meet the Donor Sperm Coordinator, this process takes a minimum of 3 months. When the sperm arrives, we will let you know so that you can begin treatment as soon as you are ready.
As part of the treatment coordination process, all patients wishing to embark on donor-assisted treatment see the fertility counsellor for an implications counselling session. The session is not an assessment but a discussion to explore the practicalities and emotional elements specific to using a donor to build your family. Listen to our donation podcast where our counsellor explains the implications counselling process and how to prepare for donation treatment.
Donor sperm can be used with IUI (intrauterine insemination) and IVF treatment. Our ethos is to use the least invasive treatment possible, and a majority of our patients using donor sperm are able to use a simple IUI treatment to build their families. Our Success Rates page has more information.
The success rate of Intrauterine insemination (IUI treatment) with donor sperm is more successful with donor sperm than with partner sperm. Amongst patients who use donor sperm in treatment, we have a 30% success rate of babies born through IUI treatment.
Women under 35
Women aged 35-38
The success rate for IVF will depend on the age and fertility potential of the female patient. Our success rate of successful pregnancies (seeing a heartbeat at 8 weeks) using donor sperm with women under 35 is 60%, and 41% with patients over 35 years of age.
