Sperm, Egg, & Embryo Donation
Sometimes, when you are an intended parent, you may not be able to create an embryo on your own. Whether you are struggling with infertility, a member of a same-sex couple, or a single intended parent, you will likely need to find a sperm donor or find an egg donor in Arizona to start your parenthood journey.
Understanding the legalities of assisted reproduction and creating a child using donor sperm or donor egg is important. Because assisted reproductive technology is advancing at a pace that the law cannot keep up with, there are several complexities involved in using an egg or sperm donor—and you’ll need an experienced lawyer to guide you through the process.
How to Find a Sperm Donor in Arizona
You will need to contact a fertility clinic to determine whether you need a sperm donation to complete your embryo. If you do, your clinic will likely refer you to specific sperm donor banks that it works with or recommends.
Sperm banks will have frozen sperm donations that will have all been deemed safe and contagion-free by the bank. You will be able to view certain information about the donor online, including:
- Height and weight
- Nationality
- Hobbies
- Professional and educational background
- Health history
- Sperm quality
- Wish for anonymity or openness in the future
- And more!
Once you find a sperm donor you like, you can purchase the sample and it will be sent to your fertility clinic to be prepped for an IUI or IVF treatment.
What You Need to Know About Finding an Egg Donor in Arizona
While people likely will use a sperm bank to find a sperm donor in Arizona, you have a few more options when it comes to finding an egg donor in Arizona. Egg donation and surrogacy commonly go hand-in-hand, so in addition to a fertility clinic, you will want to work closely with a surrogacy professional if you plan to complete surrogacy with a donor egg.
How to Find an Egg Donor in Arizona
Like you would if you were finding a sperm donor, you’ll need to contact your fertility clinic to start the process of finding an egg donor in Arizona. Your options may vary based on your individual situation, but in general, here are the paths that may be available to you:
- In-house donor programs: Some fertility clinics provide their own egg donation services to intended parents in need of a donated egg. When you work with a clinic like this, an in-house donation program may be your only option.
- Egg donor banks: Just like there are sperm banks, there are banks that house donated eggs. You may need to select a donor before the eggs can be retrieved, but make sure you check with your chosen egg donation center to learn the specifics of their process (as the egg donation process today can be completed either through cycle synchronization or frozen egg donation).
- Identified egg donor: An egg donation doesn’t have to come from a stranger; in fact, it’s not uncommon for a family member or close friend to donate their eggs to someone they know is struggling with infertility and becoming a parent through assisted reproduction.
- Online search: There are many ways you can find an egg donor online, either through a donation bank or independently. However, it’s important that you fully screen the donor you choose to make sure you’re completing the egg donation process in a reputable way.
We recommend you speak in depth with your fertility clinic about which option might be best for you and how your IVF process might proceed with each egg donation process. Your clinic or surrogacy specialist can help you understand your egg donation options in Arizona.
What to Know About Anonymity or Openness
The degree to which an egg or sperm donor is open to contact after the baby is born can be one of the most crucial parts of finding a sperm donor or egg donor. If you choose to use an anonymous donor, you’ll need to consider how you address the emotional and medical complications that may occur as your child grows up.
A child conceived from donated gametes will have questions about his or her genetic father or mother, and finding a sperm donor or egg donor who is open to contact after birth will be useful in answering these questions. While you will receive certain information about the sperm or egg donor when you first purchase the sample, there will be issues that occur later in life (unexpected medical concerns or questions not answered by the clinic’s information) that you won’t be able to address with an anonymous donor.
Many fertility and surrogacy professionals recommend you register your child conceived through a sperm or egg donation in the Donor Sibling Registry. This will allow your child to find any genetic siblings they have and will play a role in preserving their identity as a donor-conceived child.
Sperm and Egg Donor Contracts
When you use a gamete donated by someone you know, it’s important that you complete a donor contract. Much like an agreement created during the surrogacy process, an egg or sperm donor contract will address each party’s intentions and expectations for the donation process, reducing the risk of disputes that could arise from miscommunication during the donation process and after the child is born.
The contract will also address any contact that will take place between the donor and the child later in life. Because an open relationship is so important to the identity development of a donor-conceived child, a sperm or egg donor contract allows both parties to agree on what kind of communication is appropriate—before the child is even born.
You will need a lawyer to help draft this contract to ensure every aspect of the egg or sperm donation process is addressed. Contact us today to get started.
Establishing Parentage
Another legal issue to be aware of is how you’ll protect your parental rights if your child is conceived through assisted reproduction using donated gametes. It’s important that you complete a parentage order or adoption as soon as possible before or after birth to make sure that the law recognizes you as the legal parents of your child.