Recipient FAQs
As with all other infectious diseases, our sperm donors are screened for HIV, and are not permitted to participate in the donor program if tested positive. Sperm donors are tested routinely and re-tested six months after exiting the donor program. Only at this point will sperm donor samples be cleared and released for use in insemination procedures.
Currently one sperm donor is allowed to result in six successful pregnancies and subsequent live births within South Africa. This legislation is being re-visited, and will probably increase to ten. On a global scale, this number increases to two hundred. This reduces the risk of consanguinity – when donor children inadvertently meet and have their own children.
If stimulated with super ovulation medication, there’s an 80% chance for a single child, a 14% chance for twins, and a 6% chance for triplets or more.
Yes, it is referred to as consanguinity, there is always a risk. If you are unsure, a DNA test will confirm whether biological/genetic relations exist. If related, couples run the risk of increased birth defects in their offspring.
The specimens have been left to you in his Last Will and Testament
– The donor indicated so on his Cryopreservation request
Androcryos does accommodate instances where one individual would like to claim all the sperm of a chosen donor. Be sure to raise the issue with us, and we will inform you of the correct procedure.
Yes – Androcryos does not get involved with decisions around family unit structures, or choices regarding issues of parenting. LGBT couples are within their constitutional right to have children (Sec 23/26 of the Constitution of South Africa).
A woman who carries an embryo full term on behalf of another couple. Once the baby is born, this surrogate mother gives up her parental rights, allowing the couple to raise the child as their own.
Androcryos supports any couple who wishes to bring a child into the world via a surrogate mother, but has found it extremely difficult to find women willing to assist with carrying the pregnancy to term in these instances. LGBTQI couples are encouraged to approach women within their community who are understanding and supportive of their wish to start a family.
We provide information and links to resources that accommodate this process, but we do not engage with the surrogacy process ourselves.
No, we do not freeze eggs. Frozen eggs/oocytes are sent to us for storage and safe keeping, once the fertility doctor has completed the freezing procedure.
No, we do not freeze embroys. Frozen embryos are sent to us for storage and safe keeping. Fertility clinics specialise in cryogenically freezing embryos. Androcryos can refer you to a suitable in-vitro fertilisation clinic to arrange for the freezing process.
