Single Women
There are two options for single women who want to become mothers. The sperm donation option can allow single women to become mothers relatively soon, while the egg freezing option allows them to choose when they want to have a family at a later stage in life.
Sperm Donation
More and more single women who want to become mothers are using sperm donations to start their families. This is a safe and effective method of conceiving without a male partner. At Vitalab, we refer patients to local cryobanks (where donor sperm is stored), because the process is simpler and less expensive than using those in different countries. Should you wish to use a cryobank in another country, however, we can certainly assist in the process.
Prior to choosing a sperm donor, Vitalab offers counseling during which the process will be explained and concerns put to rest. Once you’ve decided that using a sperm donor is right for you, you will gain access to the sperm donor profiles. Sperm donors in South Africa remain anonymous and their identities are legally protected, but the donor profiles include information like age, physical characteristics, ethnic background, educational background, occupation, health, hobbies and interests.
All donors undergo a screening process that involves blood tests for diseases like HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The semen is also analysed to ensure that the sperm is viable for donation. Once you have selected a sperm donor, you will be ready to start the treatment cycle.
Our doctors will prescribe a treatment to use the donor sperm, which is dependent on your individual case and the success rates of each treatment. The treatment may include artificial insemination (AI), intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
Egg Freezing
Now that women are deciding to wait longer to have children, a need has emerged for a solution that allows them to achieve a successful pregnancy later on in life. Egg freezing is one such solution, which is becoming more and more popular around the world.
While many reproductive problems, such as certain types of infertility, can now be successfully treated, one constant still remains – a woman’s ‘biological clock’. Once a woman has passed her prime reproductive age (generally in her late 30’s or early 40’s) her body will gradually cease production of high quality fertile eggs. Egg freezing is a way of allowing more flexibility in terms of deciding when to start a family and ideally works for women that are 32 years of age and younger.
The procedure to freeze eggs is like the first half of an IVF cycle, but without the fertilisation of the eggs. You will receive cycle-dependant hormones to stimulate egg cell production in the ovaries, before the eggs are retrieved and frozen through technology called cryopreservation.
