When you are an infertile couple, a couple of women or a single woman, you may need to resort to a donation of gametes – oocytes or sperm – to obtain a pregnancy as part of procreation. medically assisted procreation (PMA), also called “medically assisted procreation” (AMP).
Which gives ? Who receives ? How does a donation take place? What are the criteria ? Doctor Thomas Charbonnier was the guest of the “(In)fertile” podcast. He is a gynecologist and, until October 2023, was national AMP referent at the Biomedicine Agency.
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Between the promulgation of the bioethics law, in August 2021, and June 30, 2023, nearly 30,000 requests for first consultation for PMA with sperm donation were recorded. There were around 2,000 for heterosexual couples until 2019. What do these numbers reflect?
We must distinguish two important things in this increase. We have, on the one hand, new audiences, who are creating unprecedented demand: female couples and single women. And, on the other hand, in recent years, we have noticed an increase in infertility linked to our lifestyles, pollution, toxic products, alcohol, etc.
Who are the donors?
There are two main types of donors: young people between 20 and 25 years old who have no fertility problem but feel concerned, and relatives of people who have had to benefit from a donation. It is a principle of national solidarity: when a woman or a man comes to give, he really does it for others. It is a gift of self, a very big effort of solidarity.
In 2022, 764 men donated their sperm, and 990 women, their eggs. Is this enough to meet the high demand?
It’s never enough, and that’s why we make communication campaigns to encourage giving. But we must differentiate between the number of donors and the number of gametes. In men, when we collect sperm, we collect what we call “straquins”, that is to say a stock of millions of spermatozoa. A single donation can therefore be used for several women (up to ten children). In women, the sample is more complicated and heavier. We harvest between eight and ten oocytes each time.
What are the criteria for being a donor?
Since the 2021 bioethics law, the criteria have been simplified. It is no longer necessary to have already had children to donate. Obtaining spouse’s consent is no longer mandatory and the number of possible attempts for donors has been increased. You must therefore “only” be between 18 and 45 years old, and in good health.
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