Third party reproduction refers to the use of donor egg (oocyte), donor sperm and/or gestational carrier services. It can make pregnancy possible for individuals and couples who might otherwise not have options for having a child.
Texas Fertility Center provides a variety of donor services – including an in-house donor egg program, which allows us to retain control over the screening process. Our fertility specialists identify good candidates for donor services during infertility testing and treatment.
Who could benefit from donor services?
Donor eggs
- women of advanced maternal age (over 35-40)
- women diagnosed with premature ovarian failure
- women without ovaries
- women who carry inheritable genetic diseases
- women who don’t respond well to ovulatory induction or who have repeated IVF failure.
Donor sperm
- men with severe issues with sperm count and function, and/or anatomical issues (e.g. blocked ejaculatory ducts)
- men who carry inheritable genetic diseases
- men with ejaculatory dysfunction
- lesbian couples and single women
Gestational surrogacy (a.k.a. gestational carriage):
- women without a uterus
- women for whom pregnancy could be medically contraindicated
- women with repeated IVF failure
- women with uterine scarring or other anatomical abnormality
** Texas law prohibits traditional surrogacy, in which the birth mother shares a genetic and biological link with the baby by providing her own eggs. **
Contact the experts at Texas Fertility Center for more background on the topic of third-party reproduction. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) website provides an 18-page online guide on third-party reproduction that TFC recommends:
www.asrm.org/uploadedFiles/ASRM_Content/Resources/Patient_Resources/Fact_Sheets_and_Info_Booklets/thirdparty.pdf