Donor Program

ShireIVF offers both donor eggs and donor sperm through a wide variety of affiliated international donor banks, however if you have your own donor we are able to assist in undergoing this process as well.

Donor eggs offer the possibility of childbearing to women who have gone through premature or early menopause and do not have eggs of their own.

Using IVF techniques, eggs are obtained from the donor woman, and are fertilised by sperm from the patient’s partner or by their chosen donor sperm. The resulting embryos belong to the patient are placed into their uterus in a natural monitored cycle or with the use of timed oral and vaginal hormones.

There are two types of egg donors or paths patients can take:

Known Donor

The recipient may know the egg donor. She may be a close relative or a friend or an online altruistic donor who is willing to undergo an egg collection cycle to donate their eggs

Unknown Donor

Shire IVF has developed a comprehensive donor egg program and have developed relationships with a number of well-established donor egg banks worldwide, offering a broad range of options for potential recipients.

ShireIVF partners with key providers to provide access to a range of donor banks as well as scientific and embryology support throughout all our treatment cycles.

F.A.Q’s

It is the parents prerogative whether or not to discuss the role of donor tissue in their childs life, if and when they feel it is appropriate. In general, our counsellor states the more openly available the information is, the more successful the outcome is for all involved. In Australia it is illegal to buy or sell human tissues including sperm, eggs and embryos. Under NSW law, any child born from donated sperm, eggs or embryos are deemed to be the legal child of the birth mother, donors are under no legal or financial obligation to the care of the child. This is formalised throughout the fertility treatment process and legal contracts. In 2010 the NSW Health Department established a Central Register for donors and donor-conceived offspring. The NSW Health Central Register contains information about donors and children born as a result of ART treatment using donated gametes. Once a child who was conceived using donated gametes turns 18, they will be able to access certain information on the Register if they wish.
The use of donated sperm in ART treatment is regulated by the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act (ART Act) which among other things: requires that all providers of ART treatments be registered with NSW Ministry of Health; prohibits anonymous sperm donations; limits Sperm Donors from donating sperm to more than 5 recipients; sets standards in regards to testing of donors; and mandates the registration of certain Sperm Donor information in a Central Register about the donor’s ethnicity, physical characteristics and medical history including genetic test results of the Sperm Donor and the donor’s family. The information of the sperm donor is held in the Central Registry, and can be accessed by a child conceived using ART treatment, once the child turns 18. Regardless of whether a “donor conceived child” was conceived using a private Sperm Donor or via ART treatment, under NSW law a Sperm Donor is not a parent and therefore does not have parental rights. Section 14 of the NSW Status of Children Act 1996 states that a sperm donor is presumed not to be the father of a child conceived using his sperm, unless he is the husband or de facto partner of the mother.
Yes. All parties involved in donor eggs or sperm must legally undergo counselling sessions with an affiliated counsellor. To be able to use donor eggs or donor sperm from an unknown donor through one of our banks, that donor must have undergone approved counselling and be reflected in their profile in order to be available to purchase and use in Australia. Our donor coordinator can discuss this further with you. If you are undergoing treatment with a known donor, they must attend a counselling session with our counsellor prior to undergoing treatment.