Reduced treatment costs for sperm sharers
By taking part in our sperm-sharing programme, not only can you reduce the overall cost of your own treatment by receiving a free standard IVF treatment package, but you can also help other people on their journey to parenthood by donating some of your sperm.
How does it work?
Bourn Hall was one of the first clinics to introduce a sperm sharing programme. It offers help to others whose only hope of a family is through sperm donation, and it also benefits the sharer; in return for sharing your sperm, you will receive a discount of £4495 off of your treatment costs (see table below).
| Sperm sharers | Discount of £4,495 |
|---|---|
| Medical and nursing care | HFEA registration fee |
| All in-treatment laboratory tests and procedures | Pregnancy urine test |
| All monitoring and scanning costs | Pregnancy ultrasound scan |
| Cyst aspiration (if required) | Follow-up consultation (if taken within two months of treatment completion) |
| Local anaesthetic or intravenous sedation (for egg collection procedure only) | First-year storage |
| Egg collection | Counselling |
| Embryo transfer |
Fees are payable for the initial consultation and the screening tests required to determine eligibility for this free package of IVF treatment.
As a sperm sharer you will donate sperm to our sperm bank and, after a quarantine period of three months you will be able to have a free cycle of IVF treatment yourselves. You can opt to have your treatment before this, if you wish. On completion of your donation and quarantine period, you will receive a refund equivalent to the price of a standard IVF package for the treatment you have already had yourself.
Who might need donated sperm?
Those who may benefit from receiving donor sperm include:
- Men with a genetic condition or other fertility factors that causes them to have no or very poor sperm production
- Men who have undergone cancer treatment, a vasectomy or suffered an injury or illness that has resulted in there being no sperm in their semen sample
- Men who are carriers of an inherited disease, such as haemophilia or Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which mean that using his sperm would put the life of the man’s potential baby at risk
- Couples wanting a baby who have incompatible blood types. For instance, if the female partner is Rhesus (Rh)-sensitised and the male partner is Rh positive, this would potentially make the pregnancy problematic
- Female same-sex couples and single women
Is it right for me?
If you’re a healthy male aged 18-44 undergoing fertility treatment with us, and your semen test results are good, you could be a sperm sharer. If you think you’d like to participate, speak to us and we’ll arrange a free appointment with one of our fertility specialist doctors.
To see whether you are eligible to become a sperm sharer, the doctor will examine you and ask about your family’s medical history. You’ll need to have some blood screening tests; these are carried out to ensure that all sperm sharers are free of infections, diseases or genetic conditions that could potentially be transmitted.
By sharing your sperm, you’d be helping another couple experiencing infertility. Current British law allows us to create up to 10 families from one sperm donor.
The process for sharing is the same as for anyone donating sperm.
What next?
Following an initial consultation, you will be offered free counselling before you decide to become a sperm sharer. If all is well and you decide to go ahead, we will ask you to attend the clinic at regular intervals to donate sperm. Usually, this involves 10-15 visits to the clinic. Your samples will be frozen so they can be used in the future.
Your samples are then quarantined for an appropriate period before you come back to the clinic for repeat screening tests. If these tests are also clear, we can use the frozen samples to help patients who need donated sperm for their treatment. At this point, you will be eligible for a free cycle of IVF treatment or a refund on a cycle of treatment you may have had in the meantime.
We’re incredibly proud of our success rates
At Bourn Hall, you can be assured of the best chances of having a baby within the shortest possible time. If you are under 35, you have a 73%* chance of falling pregnant within one year.
*Data from 2021
Younger than 35
If you are under 35, you have a 73% chance of falling pregnant within one year.
35 to 39 years old
If you are 35-37 years old and you continue treatment with Bourn Hall, you have a 63% (50% for 38-39 year olds) chance of getting pregnant (pregnancy seen on scan) within one year.
40+ years old
If you are a female aged over 40 and you continue treatment with Bourn Hall, you have about a 25% chance of getting pregnant within one year.
Patient reviews you can trust
Genuine experiences from real patients. See why so many trust us with their fertility care.
“We went to an open evening at Bourn Hall Wickford and came away feeling really positive about the place. The staff were really friendly and the presentation was clear about the statistics regarding success rates and live birth rates; their data was very transparent. We came away feeling like we would really be looked after.”
Katy and Leigh are parents to Charlie after IVF
Patient 2023
“We chose to make an appointment at Bourn Hall Wickford because of the favourable reviews. When we got there and met the staff they were just so lovely, making us feel welcome and explaining to us what tests would need to be done and what our options were; we just thought ‘yes, let’s get the ball rolling!”
Jess and Fran are mums to Nathan after IVF with donor sperm
Patient 2023
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