The biomedicine agency is launching a major campaign to recruit sperm and egg donors. Professor Paul Sagot, head of the gynecology and obstetrics department at Dijon University Hospital, takes stock of this practice, which is still not very widespread in Côte-d’Or.
France Bleu Bourgogne: if you want to become a donor in Côte-d’Or, who should you turn to?
Paul Answers: We can make an appointment on the CHU website where there is all the information that is given, whether for sperm donation or egg donation.
How is sperm donation going?
You must be of legal age and be under 45 years old. We make an appointment with CECOS which is the French institution that manages all of these donations and the stock of these spermatozoa as well as the attributions. There is an information consultation, we are talking about consent, a reflection period. There will of course be a number of tests that will be carried out in terms of blood group, also in terms of viruses: hepatitis, AIDS, cytomegalovirus, etc. And, of course, a semen checkup to see if there are any fertility issues. Then the samples are taken by masturbation in a room which is dedicated for this type of sample directly in the laboratory of reproductive biology.
For egg donation, on the other hand, is it heavier?
It’s much heavier, yes. It is also paradoxical to see that there are three times more women who make an act of donation compared to men today. And despite everything, it is insufficient in relation to the needs. To give, you must be between 18 and 37 years old. Even if we have greatly reduced the treatments necessary to be able to obtain several mature oocytes, there will be treatments with subcutaneous injections for a fortnight to stimulate the ovaries. And then there will be a puncture of the ovaries which will be done vaginally, either under general anesthesia or under local anesthesia, depending on what the patient prefers.
The anonymity of the donor is still in effect but will that change in September 2022?
We are especially waiting for the decrees of application to know what we do with the spermatozoa which are currently preserved or the oocytes which are created or preserved, or the embryos which are created or preserved. As current donors are protected by the law of full anonymity, will we have to destroy stocks of gametes once anonymity is lifted?
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