IVF with sperm donation in Barcelona

Price of IVF with sperm donation in Spain

The average cost of IVF with sperm donation in Barcelona, Spain is €3,200. Depending on your needs, the price can vary from 3,000 euros to 3,400 euros.

PMA	Cost in Euros
IVF ICSI	3100 euros
IVF ICSI Egg donation	3800 euros
IVF ICSI Double egg donation	4100 euros
IVF ICSI Sperm donation	3200 euros
Sperm donation	800 euros
Egg vitrification	2600 euros
Artificial insemination	1000 euros
Embryo donation	3150 euros
ROPA technique (shared maternity)	5000 euros
Pregnancy guaranteed or your money back	15000 euros

What is donor insemination?

Donor insemination (DAI) is the process of inseminating a woman with sperm obtained from a known or anonymous donor. The procedure is generally carried out as part of natural cycles, without the use of fertility drugs.

However, fertility drugs may be recommended for women over the age of 30 and for those who have failed donor insemination in natural cycles, in order to increase the number of eggs to be fertilised.

If insemination with donor sperm has not been successful, or if other fertility factors indicate the need, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with donor sperm may be carried out.

Use of donor sperm

People who may choose to use donor sperm include :

• Single or lesbian women
• Those whose male partner has no recoverable sperm
• Those wishing to obtain backup samples for difficult cases of male infertility

Sperm donors may be known or anonymous. The type of donor you choose is a very personal decision, depending on a number of factors. Whatever type of donor is chosen, various considerations and requirements apply.

Using a known donor

Some women may choose to ask a friend to donate sperm. As this option can raise sensitive questions and decisions about parenthood, a number of actions are necessary before receiving a sperm donation:

• Counselling. The Pacific Fertility Centre requires both parties involved in donor insemination to attend at least one counselling session with a family therapist or psychologist familiar with the issues that can arise in this type of arrangement.
  
• Legal agreement between the sperm donor and the intended parent. Prior to insemination, the patient and donor must create a valid, notarised legal agreement or contract outlining the rights and responsibilities of the parents.
  
• The PFC strongly encourages the donor and recipient to seek legal advice prior to the insemination process.

Using an anonymous donor

Patients using anonymous donor sperm obtain frozen samples from accredited sperm banks.

Sperm banks can vary considerably in terms of donor information, identity, ethnicity and medical history, as well as the number of donors available. Most banks do not provide donor profiles. Some sperm banks may have a provision allowing future contact (disclosure of identity) between adult offspring of sperm donors and the donor. Some may allow identification in cases of medical need.

Sperm bank procedure

Certified sperm banks must meet specific donor selection requirements. To virtually eliminate any risk of disease transmission, the sperm is quarantined. During this process, the donor is tested for infectious diseases. The donated sperm is then frozen and stored at the sperm bank for six months. The donor is tested again for infectious diseases before the sperm is supplied to clinics and patients.

Patients can choose most certified sperm banks. Patients are responsible for selecting the donor and must pay the sperm bank directly for the sperm and shipping.

Women may have to consult the donor lists of several banks before finding the donor they want. We cannot advise you on which donor to use, as this is a very personal choice.

The donor’s blood group would only be important if the patient used donor sperm in the event that the future father has no sperm and you would not want the future child to know that a donor was used. In this case, it may make sense to use a donor whose blood type matches that of the father-to-be.

We recommend that patients pay attention to the quality of the sperm guaranteed by the bank when making their choice. Patients will find a wide variation in the minimum number of motile (swimming) sperm that banks provide. We encourage patients to work with banks that guarantee a minimum of 15 million motile sperm per vial after thawing.

Sperm donation and IUI

Most patients trying to conceive a child with donor sperm begin with intrauterine insemination (IUI). Especially if the patient is young and ovulates regularly, the fertility clinic will give you a home test kit to detect the LH surge indicating ovulation; then they will thaw the sperm and inseminate accordingly.

Other patients may take fertility drugs such as clomiphene, letrozole or gonadotropins in conjunction with IUI. The aim of using these drugs is to induce ovulation in women who do not ovulate regularly or to recruit several eggs (superovulation) in order to increase the chances of fertilisation.

What can I expect from donor insemination?

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is most often carried out in MAP clinics in Europe or Spain, as the chances of successful conception are higher if the timing of sperm exposure is controlled and the sperm is placed in greater numbers closer to the egg(s).

Donated sperm is delivered directly to the clinic in frozen form, and stored in this state until the day of insemination. On the day of the procedure, the laboratory thaws the semen vial(s), performs a count and assesses the percentage of motile sperm (normal, moving) in the sample to ensure the best possible results.

Risks associated with donor insemination

The risks of donor insemination are the same as those of any type of intrauterine insemination, which include infection, uterine cramps, ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage. The risk of infection is extremely low. Cramps are unusual and, if present, very mild.

Sperm donation and IVF

If several IUI attempts have not resulted in pregnancy, or if other female factors are present, IVF with sperm donation may be recommended. Although controversial, some studies have suggested that frozen-thawed sperm is much less effective than fresh sperm in achieving fertilisation of eggs with IUI.

When a frozen sperm sample is thawed, embryologists analyse the sample. If the sperm concentration and/or motility are low, the embryologist may recommend thawing a second vial or deciding to perform ICSI and inject the sperm directly into the eggs.

Donor sperm can also be used as a back-up solution in cases of very severe male infertility. In such cases, a urologist will first attempt to surgically retrieve sperm from the male partner’s testicle(s). In rare cases where the sperm recovered is insufficient to inseminate the partner’s eggs, we may recommend that donor sperm be made available as a reserve.