Sperm donation – separating fact from fiction

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Wanted: a few good men!

As a growing number of single women make the decision to embark on solo parenting, lesbian couples embrace techniques like artificial insemination and IVF to help them have a family, and fertility issues become more common for heterosexual couples who meet and marry later in life, there’s never been a more appropriate time for Australian men to donate their sperm.

However, despite a clear need for more donor sperm, there’s still a lot of myths around sperm donation, and understandably, men are often hesitant to put themselves forward. Here, we explore the truth behind the most common misconceptions to help overcome some of the fears men may have about becoming a donor.

“Gay men can’t donate sperm.”

A gay man can donate sperm just like any other healthy male. In Australia, sexual orientation plays no part in deciding whether or not you can become a sperm donor (admittedly, this is a clear contrast to the policies of some international sperm banks). Unfortunately, because men who have sex with men are prevented from donating blood – due to a perceived increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases – some people assume that gay men can’t donate sperm either. However, that’s simply not the case and here in Australia, gay men have actually been credited for increasing the availability of donor sperm.

The fact is, all sperm donors – no matter their sexual orientation – are screened for infectious diseases before their sperm is cleared for use. This includes blood tests at the time of donation and again at 3 months. Sperm is only made available to potential recipients after both sets of blood tests have been given the all clear (this is why donor sperm is not used straightaway but quarantined for 3 months).  Simply put, sexual orientation doesn’t form part of the eligibility criteria for sperm donors and is irrelevant to your ability to donate. Whether you’re gay, bi or straight, your intent is exactly the same – to give in order to help others in need.

“My sperm could be used to make hundreds of children.”

You may have come across news stories about men abroad who have fathered many, many children through sperm donation (some well into the double figures!). However, Australian law simply does not permit this. In Victoria, sperm from a single donor is only allowed to be used by a maximum of 10 different patients or ‘families’. This effectively limits the number of potential children that can be conceived by any one donor.

On the other hand, there is no limit to the number of children that can be born from the same sperm donor within each of these families. This gives families the opportunity to bear siblings who are genetically related. So if a recipient has success with your sperm, they may choose to use your sperm again in the future when trying for baby #2 or 3 in order to give their child a biologically-related brother or sister.

But it’s also important to realise that your sperm may never be used or may only be used once or twice. If it is used, there is also no guarantee that the process of assisted conception (e.g. IVF or IUI) will be successful for the recipient, i.e. a child may not result every time your sperm is used. Further, the semen we collect from you may also not ‘stretch’ to ten different families. This, along with unsuccessful IVF attempts, is why we like donors to provide a few sperm samples over time.

“If you donate sperm, you’ll have children showing up on your doorstep for years to come.”

The Victorian government was one of the first to query the ethical implications of the secrecy surrounding sperm donorship. As such, current legislation states that a donor-conceived person can request identifying information about their donor once they turn 18. This loss of guaranteed anonymity is one of the main reasons why the number of sperm donors has dropped over recent decades. However, although a donor-conceived child has the option of getting in touch with you once they are an adult, this doesn’t necessarily mean they will do so. Some children may not know they are donor-conceived while others will simply have no inclination to reach out.

If a child conceived from your sperm does choose to get in contact with you, you still have no legal, financial or parental responsibilities to that child. However, you may find that you are happy to build and maintain a relationship with them. In this case, you can discuss and agree together the extent of any future contact, in line with what you both feel comfortable with.

“If you’re a sperm donor, you’re a father of all the children who are born.”

When you donate your sperm, it provides the biological means to create a baby only. Men who donate sperm anonymously through a registered sperm bank are not legally or financially responsible for any child born from their sperm. Sperm donor recipients (i.e. the mum and dad to be) must also receive counselling to ensure mutual understanding of your rights as a donor. Put simply, you are just the sperm donor, not the Dad. And we make sure that everyone involved knows that they do not have the right to ask or expect you to be anything more than that.

“Only good-looking men’s sperm will be used”

Don’t think your sperm will be wanted? Think again! The reality is that recipients often have their own ideas of the ‘dream’ sperm donor. And this could be you! When it comes to donor selection, your physical attributes (e.g. blue eyes, brown hair, height) are listed but photos are never provided. More often than not, recipients will choose a donor based on other information provided, including your age, medical history, hobbies/interests, ethnic background, and reason for donating. For example, we know one woman who chose her donor based on the fact that he (like herself) had a penchant for trivia, a trait she hoped would be passed on to her future child!

The fact is, the most important attribute of any sperm bank is variety, thereby enabling choice. That’s why we welcome donors from a wide range of nationalities, cultures, professions, and stages and ages of life. This ensures that women and couples have the opportunity to choose a donor that aligns with their personal preferences, particularly if bearing a child with a clear physical resemblance or from a certain ethnic background (e.g. Asian, Anglosaxon) is important to them.

Donate life, change lives with Newlife IVF

Newlife IVF loves hearing from new sperm donors – single men, fathers, gay individuals or couples. Come one, come all! If you have been thinking about becoming a donor but haven’t yet taken the next step, please call us on (03) 8080 8933 or email [email protected] so we can give you all the facts and get your swimmers to those who need it sooner rather than later!

Further reading

The rise of sub-fertility – are you affected?

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1Our fertility is influenced by many factors including our age, genetics, lifestyle, recent illness and contraception use.2 For example, did you know that a man’s sperm count can temporarily decrease following a virus and take 3–6 months to recover?

Indeed, fertility often reflects our overall health, so if you are experiencing a delay in falling pregnant, a good first step is to review your lifestyle and identify any risk factors or habits that could be impacting you and/or your partner’s fertility. Taking steps to reduce these risk factors, while also learning how to increase the odds of conception (e.g. through ovulation tracking and timed intercourse), may be all that’s required for you to fall pregnant naturally.

The rise of sub-fertility

While there are specific medical problems that can cause fertility issues, the number of couples experiencing sub-fertility – rather than infertility due to an obvious medical cause – is increasing. Diet and other lifestyle factors have been implicated as key reasons for couples’ waning fertility. The good news is that research clearly shows that we can optimise our reproductive health and fertility by making positive lifestyle changes. For the most part, this means being more mindful about how we treat and care for our bodies each day – from the food, drink and other substances we consume to how much exercise and rest we get. Even a few small changes can make a significant difference to your odds of conception.

Get started with our fertility-wise checklist

The below checklist can help you identify what changes you and your partner can make to optimise your fertility and increase your chances of falling pregnant sooner:

1. Are you under or overweight?

Carrying too little or too much weight can cause sub-fertility by altering the balance of your reproductive hormones.3,4 This, in turn, can affect ovulation, as well as sperm production and function. Research has shown that if a woman is overweight, even a small drop in weight (5%) can significantly improve her chances of conceiving.5

2. Do you #eatforfertility?

A poor diet can also play havoc with the body’s hormones and cause problems with ovulation, as well as the number and quality of sperm.6 You can learn more about how diet can affect fertility from our fertility specialist, Dr Chris Russell.

3. What’s hidden in your drinks?

Soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit juice and iced teas are all loaded with sugar. Just like the wrong foods, the wrong drinks can also cause weight gain and upset your hormones. Swapping out these drinks for herbal teas and water is a good strategy for removing sugar from your diet. When it comes to coffee and other caffeinated beverages, low to moderate levels of consumption may be OK. However, higher levels of caffeine consumption have been linked to an increased risk of sub-fertility and miscarriage in women.7,8 Given these risks, the safer bet for women is to limit consumption of caffeinated drinks to one per day.

4. How physically active are you?

Exercise is a key component of managing weight. Moderate exercise increases the chance of having a baby among women who undergo assisted reproductive techniques (ART).9 In contrast, a large amount of high intensity exercise may actually reduce fertility, so it’s a good idea to avoid this type of exercise while trying for a baby – this is true for both men and women.10,11

5. Are you a smoker?

Men and women who smoke are more affected by sub-fertility than non-smokers, so if you smoke it may take longer for you to get pregnant. This is because smoking affects every stage of the reproduction process, reducing your chances of both natural pregnancy and IVF success.12,13 There is no safe limit for smoking – the only way to remove this risk factor is to quit.

6. How much alcohol do you consume?

Research shows that even drinking lightly can increase the time it takes to fall pregnant.14 For women who are planning a pregnancy, the safest option is to abstain from all alcohol. For men, heavy drinking can cause impotence, reduce sex drive (libido) and affect sperm quality – we recommend following the Australian safe drinking guidelines and limiting your intake to no more than two standard drinks a day.15

7. Could other substances be causing you harm?

For both men and women, taking cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana can reduce the chance of having a baby. Taken over a long period of time, recreational drugs can cause permanent problems with the reproductive system and infertility. Taking anabolic steroids can also affect the production of sperm – in fact, it can take up to two years for sperm to return to normal after stopping steroids. Some medications, including treatments for hypertension and depression, may also affect fertility.16 Your doctor is the best person to advise whether a medication can affect your fertility and if other treatment options are available.

8. Could stress be playing a role?

If you encounter a lot of stress in your life, then there’s a chance your reproductive system isn’t working as well as it could be.17,18 You can learn more about the link between stress and sub-fertility by reading this article by Newlife IVF fertility specialist, A/Prof Martin Healey.

9. Have you reduced your exposure to potentially harmful chemicals?

Studies show that some chemicals (referred to as ‘endocrine disrupting chemicals’) can reduce the quality of sperm and eggs, affecting a couple’s chances of conceiving. While it is impossible to completely avoid these chemicals, you can reduce your exposure to them. The Your Fertility website has detailed information on the types of chemicals that affect fertility, where they are found, and what you can do to avoid them.

10. Are you getting enough sleep?

There is increasing evidence to suggest that sleep may have an impact on fertility. A recent study found that men who went to bed earlier (before 10.30pm) and slept longer (more than seven hours a night) were more likely to have good quality sperm.19 Similarly, another study showed that women with insomnia were more than four times as likely to experience infertility than their peers who slept well.20

When should you seek help?

Women under 35 are advised to seek help after 12 months of trying for a baby. As fertility declines with age, women over 35 are advised to seek help earlier, after 6 months of trying.

If you are experiencing a delay in falling pregnant and would like further advice, you can make an appointment with one of our specialists by calling Newlife IVF on (03) 8080 8933. You can also book online via our appointments page.

References

  1. Gnoth CE, Godehardt P, Frank-Herrmann K et al. Definition and Prevalence of Subfertility and Infertility. Human Reproduction 2005; 20 no. 5: 1144–47. ↩
  2. Axmon A, Rylander L, Albin M et al. Factors Affecting Time to Pregnancy. Human Reproduction 2006; 21 no.5: 1279–84. ↩
  3. Ling PR. Focus on Obesity Research. New York: Nova Publishers, 2005. ↩
  4. Durairajanayagam D. Lifestyle Causes of Male Infertility. Arab Journal of Urology 2018; 16 no.1: 10–20. ↩
  5. Clark AM, Ledger W, Galletly C et al. Weight Loss Results in Significant Improvement in Pregnancy and Ovulation Rates in Anovulatory Obese Women. Human Reproduction 1995; 10 no.10: 2705–12. ↩
  6. Gaskins AJ, Chavarro JE. Diet and Fertility: A Review. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2018; 218 no.4: 379–389. ↩
  7. Chen LW, Yi W, Neelakantan N. et al. Maternal Caffeine Intake during Pregnancy and Risk of Pregnancy Loss: A Categorical and Dose–Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies. Public Health Nutrition 2016; 19 no.7: 1233–44. ↩
  8. Florack EIM, Zielhuis GA, Rolland R. Cigarette Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, and Caffeine Intake and Fecundability. Preventive Medicine 1994; 23 no.2: 175–80. ↩
  9. Rao M, Zeng Z, Tang L. Maternal Physical Activity before IVF/ICSI Cycles Improves Clinical Pregnancy Rate and Live Birth Rate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2018; 16 no.1:11. ↩
  10. Vaamonde D, Agarwal A, du Plessis SS et al. Impact of Physical Activity and Exercise on Male Reproductive Potential: Semen Alterations. In: Vaamonde D, ed. Exercise and Human Reproduction: Induced Fertility Disorders and Possible Therapies. New York: Springer, 2016: 101–24. ↩
  11. Morris SN, Missmer SA, Cramer DW et al. Effects of Lifetime Exercise on the Outcome of in Vitro Fertilization. Obstetrics & Gynecology 2006; 108 no.4: 938–945. ↩
  12. Mínguez-Alarcón L, Chavarro JE, Gaskins AJ. Caffeine, Alcohol, Smoking, and Reproductive Outcomes among Couples Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology Treatments. Fertility and Sterility 2018; 110 no.4: 587–92. ↩
  13. Hart RJ. Physiological Aspects of Female Fertility: Role of the Environment, Modern Lifestyle, and Genetics. Physiological Reviews 2016; 96 no.3: 873–909. ↩
  14. Fan D, Li L, Xia Q et al. Female Alcohol Consumption and Fecundability: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis. Scientific Reports 2017; 7 no.1: 13815. ↩
  15. Ricci E, Al Beitawi S, Cipriani S et al. Semen Quality and Alcohol Intake: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Reproductive BioMedicine Online 2017; 34 no.1: 38–47. ↩
  16. Alvarez, S. Do Some Addictions Interfere with Fertility? Fertility and Sterility 2015; 103 no.1: 22–26. ↩
  17. Nargund VH. Effects of Psychological Stress on Male Fertility. Nature Reviews Urology 2015; 12 no.7: 373–82. ↩
  18. Vartiainen H, Suonio S, Halonen P et al. Psychosocial Factors, Female Fertility and Pregnancy: A Prospective Study — Part II: Pregnancy. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology 1994; 15 no.2: 77–84. ↩
  19. Hvidt J, Knudsen UB, Zachariae R et al. Association of Sleep Quality, Bedtime, and Sleep Duration with Semen Quality in Males Seeking Fertility Treatment. In ESHRE, 2019. ↩
  20. Wang I, Liu Y, Peng C et al. Non-Apnea Sleep Disorder Increases the Risk of Subsequent Female Infertility—A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study. Sleep 2017; 41 no.1:186-189. ↩

Getting pregnant with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

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If you have PCOS, you probably know that it’s relatively common, affecting between 5% and 13% of women of reproductive age. You may also know that it can sometimes lead to fertility problems – but the good news is that there are various ways to overcome them and help you get pregnant.

How does PCOS affect fertility?

When you have PCOS, your ovaries are larger than normal and have many small ‘cysts’ (follicles) that contain immature eggs. Because these follicles don’t develop properly, ovulation may not occur – in other words, your ovaries may not release an egg during your monthly cycle. And if a healthy egg is not released from your ovaries, it can’t be fertilised by sperm, meaning you won’t have a chance of falling pregnant that month.

Most women with PCOS have irregular ovulation – some months an egg is released, some months an egg isn’t –  which reduces their overall chances of conceiving and often means that it takes them longer than usual to fall pregnant.

Fortunately, however, there are numerous options for improving your fertility if you have PCOS. Around 6 in 10 women with PCOS become pregnant without any medical intervention, and there are also several ways that fertility specialists can help if you do find yourself having trouble conceiving.

How can fertility be improved for women with PCOS?

If you have PCOS, potential options to improve your fertility and increase your chances of getting pregnant include:

Lifestyle changes

Maintaining a healthy weight is particularly important if you have PCOS and you’re trying to improve your chances of getting pregnant, because excess weight can affect your hormones. So if you are overweight or obese, losing weight may help get your hormones back to normal levels and should help you to get pregnant. And even if this is not enough on its own, maintaining a healthy weight will improve your chances of conceiving if you undergo fertility treatments.

Aside from managing your weight, you may also be able to improve your fertility with other lifestyle changes, such as a better diet, regular exercise, not smoking, reducing stress, and carefully managing diabetes or other medical conditions.

Medications to help you ovulate

If lifestyle changes alone are not sufficient, you may require some medication that stimulates your body to produce and release eggs. This is known as ‘ovulation induction therapy’.

In most cases, the first choice of medication is a tablet called clomiphene (Clomid). This has a good success rate – it can achieve 30%-50% pregnancy rates after 6 treatment cycles.

The next option for ovulation induction therapy, if Clomid is unsuccessful, is usually an injection of hormones known as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH). These hormones, which are normally produced by your body, mimic the normal hormonal cycle to stimulate the growth and release of eggs from the ovaries.

Surgery to increase the chance of ovulation

In some cases, surgery may be an appropriate option for women with PCOS who have not become pregnant despite other treatments.

The surgical procedure, which is known as ‘ovarian drilling’ or ‘laparoscopic ovarian surgery’, involves removing some of the tissue from the surface of the ovaries – this can encourage your body to ovulate more regularly. Despite its somewhat ominous-sounding name, ovarian drilling is a minimally invasive ‘keyhole’ surgery that is performed via a small incision below your belly button.

IVF (in vitro fertilisation)

If other treatments have not been successful, IVF is another option for women with PCOS. With IVF, eggs are removed from the ovaries and fertilised in the lab (or ‘in vitro’), then the resulting embryo is returned to the uterus.

Patients with PCOS usually do very well with IVF. This is because the main problem in PCOS is ovulation (i.e. the release of eggs from the ovary), not the subsequent embryo formation and implantation. As each ‘cyst’ in the ovary is a potential egg, women with PCOS actually have very good egg numbers, which means we are usually able to retrieve a high number of eggs with IVF stimulation. Once an embryo has been created via IVF, most women with PCOS go on to have a successful pregnancy.

Need advice about PCOS and fertility?

If you have PCOS, there can be a lot to consider when it comes to fertility.

So if you would like expert advice about ways to improve your chances of getting pregnant, you can make an appointment with one of our fertility specialists by calling Newlife IVF on (03) 8080 8933 or by booking online via our appointments page.

Further reading

Tips to optimise your fertility and prepare for pregnancy

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Diet

A diet low in sugar, processed carbohydrates and trans-fats will improve your fertility by supporting regular ovulation. The best way to achieve this is by eating wholesome, non-processed foods. Cutting out sugary drinks is also a great strategy to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. On top of this, we recommend that you increase your level of omega-3 by consuming flaxseed, fish oil, salmon, sardines or walnuts.

Exercise

The benefits of regular exercise on health and overall well-being are well known. As such, it’s hardly surprising that regular exercise can boost your fertility. We recommend 45 minutes of exercise 3–4 times a week, with weight training or high-impact interval training particularly beneficial. Ultimately though, find something that works for you. Of course, balance is critical – overdoing the exercise can make your menstrual cycle irregular and make it harder for you to get pregnant.

Exercise

Weight

Ideally, women should strive to maintain a healthy weight, with a BMI between 18.5–25 kg/m2. Outside of these limits, studies have demonstrated a decrease in spontaneous pregnancy rates and increased time to pregnancy. As an added incentive, maintaining a healthy weight during pregnancy also provides benefits for you and your baby. You can calculate your BMI using this handy online calculator.

Stress

Through its influence on hormones, persistently high stress levels may hinder your chances of becoming pregnant. At the same time, there’s no denying that the struggle to conceive can be emotionally taxing. It’s a vicious cycle that may sometimes be hard to break. Try incorporating activities into your routine that lower stress, such as mindfulness, yoga and counselling. Ensuring a nutritious diet, adequate exercise and a decent night’s sleep can also do wonders for your mental well-being. Perhaps most importantly, ensure you have supportive people around you throughout your fertility journey.

Caffeine

Don’t panic, you don’t need to cut out caffeine completely. However, it is thought that excessive caffeine consumption can reduce fertility. We recommend you limit yourself to one cup of coffee per day (a hard ask for some, we know).

A good night’s sleep

The relationship between sleep and fertility is not completely understood. However, recent studies suggest that regularly getting 7–8 hours of sleep each night is the optimum amount required to boost your fertility.

Smoking

Exposure to smoke (through smoking or second-hand smoke) makes it more difficult to become pregnant. Smoke can harm your eggs, disrupt the journey of a fertilised egg to the womb and change the level of hormones responsible for normal fertility. Furthermore, it can increase the chances of you miscarrying or giving birth prematurely. Men don’t get off scot-free either; smoking reduces their fertility too. On the bright side, these effects are reversed within a year of quitting. So, if ever there was a time to quit, it’s now.

Alcohol

No safe level of alcohol consumption has been established during pregnancy. Most women know that abstinence throughout pregnancy is important. However, what’s less commonly known is that heavy drinking can negatively impact your fertility. Studies show that women who consume a lot of alcohol take longer to get pregnant, and couples who do not drink during IVF treatment have more favourable outcomes than those who do drink.

Ultimately, if you’re planning a pregnancy, cutting out alcohol is the best option.

Review your medications

Certain medications may reduce your fertility. Your fertility specialist can advise whether this may be applicable to any medications you are taking.

Folate and multivitamins

While these don’t actually affect your fertility, they are very important in ensuring the healthy development of your baby early in pregnancy. In particular, adequate levels of folate can prevent deformities in your baby’s brain and spinal cord. Folate is present in a variety of foods and can also be taken in a pregnancy multi-vitamin. We recommend a taking good-quality pregnancy multi-vitamin when you’re trying to conceive and throughout the first trimester of your pregnancy.

Learn how to optimise your fertility

To meet with one of our fertility specialists and learn more about how you could improve your fertility, call Newlife IVF on (03) 8080 8933 or book online via our appointments page.