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New research has shown that many couples are having to seek fertility treatment abroad because of a lack of sperm and egg donors in the UK. The new study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, revealed the major reasons for seeking fertility treatment abroad were a lack of donors in the UK, long waiting times for NHS treatment, high costs and a ‘postcode lottery’ for NHS IVF...

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One of the most common reasons many women need to use a donor egg to get pregnant is because their own eggs are not good enough quality to be used due to the woman’s age. It’s a fact that live birth rates for older women in their mid-40s, who wish to use their own eggs to conceive, is generally extremely low. And so for many women who want to have children later in life, an egg donor is their only hope...

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At Manchester Fertility Services we’ve seen a significant rise in the number of patients enquiring about our egg-sharing scheme. The scheme gives women going through IVF the chance of cheaper private IVF treatment, if they’re willing to donate half their eggs to other women who need donor eggs to get pregnant.

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Deciding to become an egg donor is a huge decision and not one that women take lightly. Becoming an egg donor involves time, commitment - and patience...

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Hollywood actor John Travolta, and his wife Kelly Preston, recently announced she was expecting a baby. Great news, and nothing unusual you might think....except that Kelly is 47 years old...

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Researchers in the US have found a new way to improve male fertility thanks to a new technique of selecting the best sperm for use in ICSI treatments. The new method analyses sperm for its ability to attach itself to the egg and fertilise it by looking at its DNA. So when performing ICSI – where a single sperm is injected directly into the egg - doctors can be sure they are selecting the ‘best’ sperm for the greatest chance of success...

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North West infertility clinic, Manchester Fertility Services is offering couples reduced rate IVF through a new scheme which aims to help women who need donor eggs. The new egg-sharing programme is designed to help couples who need IVF but can’t afford private treatment. The programme gives them a subsidised rate for a cycle of IVF if they agree to donate some of their eggs collected during the IVF process, which are not being used for their own treatment, to other infertile women...

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A major review of the rules regarding sperm, egg and embryo donation is taking place this year by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the regulatory body in the UK that governs sperm, egg and embryo donation. One of the areas to be discussed is the current ’10 family limit’ restriction regarding donor sperm. Under current regulations, sperm from the same donor can only be used to create a maximum of 10 families. This doesn’t mean, however...

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Imagine going through the menopause in your twenties. You aren’t even in a serious relationship yet, but here you are unable to have children before you’ve even decided you want them. Or imagine you’re going through gruelling cancer treatment in your thirties. You wanted to wait a bit longer for children, but now there’s a chance you’ll never get pregnant naturally.

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So what would make someone decide to use another man’s sperm to create their child? Surely we all want our children to be biologically ours, to ‘take after us’ and have our characteristics, our facial features, our mannerisms?...

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