Third-party reproduction or donor-assisted reproduction is any
human reproduction
Human sexual reproduction, to produce offspring, begins with fertilization. Successful reproduction typically involves sexual intercourse between a healthy, sexually mature and fertile male and female. During sexual intercourse, sperm cells are ...
in which
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
or
gestation
Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...
is provided by a third party or donor other than the one or two
parent
A parent is either the progenitor of a child or, in humans, it can refer to a caregiver or legal guardian, generally called an adoptive parent or step-parent. Parents who are progenitors are First-degree relative, first-degree relatives and have ...
s who will
raise the resulting child.
This goes beyond the traditional
father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...
–
mother
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...
model, and the third party's involvement is limited to the reproductive process and does not extend into the raising of the child. Third-party reproduction is used by couples unable to reproduce by traditional means, by
same-sex couple
A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage
Marriage, also called ma ...
s, and by men and women without a partner. Where donor gametes are provided by a donor, the donor will be a biological parent of the resulting child, but in third party reproduction, he or she will not be the caring parent.
Categories
One can distinguish several categories, some of which may be combined:
*
Sperm donation
Sperm donation is the provision by a man of his sperm with the intention that it be used in the artificial insemination or other "fertility treatment" of one or more women who are not his sexual partners in order that they may become pregnant by h ...
. A donor provides
sperm
Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive Cell (biology), cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm ...
in order to father a child for a third-party female.
*
Egg donation
Egg donation (also referred to as "oocyte donation") is the process by which a woman donates eggs to enable another woman to conceive as part of an assisted reproduction treatment or for biomedical research. For assisted reproduction purposes, e ...
. A donor provides
ova to a woman or couple in order for the egg to be fertilized and implanted in the recipient woman.
**
Spindle transfer. A third party's
mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
is transferred to the future mother's ovum. This is used to prevent
mitochondrial disease
Mitochondrial disease is a group of disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the organelles that generate energy for the cell and are found in every cell of the human body except red blood cells. They convert the energy o ...
.
*
Embryo donation
** with
embryo
An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
s which were originally created for a genetic mother's
assisted pregnancy. Once the genetic mother has completed her own treatment, she may donate unused embryos for use by a third party.
** or where embryos are specifically created for donation using donor eggs and donor sperm.
*
Embryo adoption. Embryos created during a donor's assisted pregnancy are adopted to be implanted in a third party recipient.
*
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby a woman gets pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple who will become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, danger ...
. An embryo is gestated in a third party's uterus (traditional surrogacy) or a woman is inseminated in order to gestate a child for a third party (straight surrogacy).
Gestation
Gestation is typically initiated by
artificial insemination
Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...
in the case of sperm donation and by
embryo transfer
Embryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy. This technique - which is often used in connection with in vitro fertili ...
after
in vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an ovum, egg is combined with spermatozoon, sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the Ovulation cycle, ovulatory process, then removing ...
(IVF) in the case of egg donation, embryo donation, and surrogacy. Thus a child can have a genetic and social (non-genetic, non-biological) father, and a genetic, gestational, and social (non-biological) mother, and any combinations thereof. Theoretically a child thus could have 5 parents.
Donor treatment
A donor treatment is where gametes, i.e. sperm, ova or embryos are provided, or 'donated' by a third party for the purpose of third-party reproduction.
Combinations
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby a woman gets pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple who will become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, danger ...
includes, in its wider sense, all situations where a ''surrogate'' carries a pregnancy for another person. Recently, there has been a tendency to separate the gestational carrier situation from the "true" surrogate restricting the term for a woman who provides a combination of ovum donation and gestational carrier services.
In a 'conventional surrogacy', a surrogate agrees to be inseminated with the sperm of the male partner of the 'commissioning' couple, or with the sperm of one of the male partners in a same-sex relationship, or with sperm provided by a
sperm donor. The surrogate is inseminated, conceives, and hands over the baby at the completion of the pregnancy. In conventional surrogacy, the egg which is fertilized is therefore that of the surrogate. A famous case involving
paternity
Paternity may refer to:
*Father, the male parent of a (human) child
*Paternity (law), fatherhood as a matter of law
* ''Paternity'' (film), a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds
* "Paternity" (''House''), a 2004 episode of the television seri ...
rights and surrogacy is the
Baby M case.
In a 'gestational surrogacy', a surrogate agrees to the implantation in her of an embryo which may be created either by using an egg provided by another woman who may be part of a 'commissioning' couple, or she may be a single woman. Alternatively, an egg provided by a donor may be used to create the embryo. The embryo implanted in the surrogate may be fertilised using sperm from the male partner of the 'commissioning couple', or by using sperm provided by a
sperm donor.
Embryo donation is where extra embryos from a successful IVF of a couple are given to other couples or women for transfer with the goal of producing a successful pregnancy. Embryos for
embryo donation may also be created specifically for
embryo transfer
Embryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy. This technique - which is often used in connection with in vitro fertili ...
using donor eggs and sperm, or in some cases donor eggs and donor sperm. It may thus be seen as a combination of sperm donation and egg donation, since what is donated is a combination of these. Such embryos may also be donated to a 'commissioning' woman or a 'commissioning' couple and gestated by a surrogate where, for example, the 'commissioning' woman or the woman of the 'commissioning' couple is infertile and is unable to bring a pregnancy to full term on medical grounds, or is unwilling for social, medical or other reasons, to do so.
See also
*
Egg donation
Egg donation (also referred to as "oocyte donation") is the process by which a woman donates eggs to enable another woman to conceive as part of an assisted reproduction treatment or for biomedical research. For assisted reproduction purposes, e ...
*
Sexual surrogate
*
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby a woman gets pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple who will become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, danger ...
References
External links
Annotated Bibliography for Children and Parents of Third Party ReproductionCompiled by the Education Committee, Spring 2007
UK Donorlink(UK Voluntary Information Exchange and Contact Register for donors and donor-conceived people)
THIRD PARTY REPRODUCTION (Sperm, egg, and embryo donation and surrogacy) A Guide for Patients*
ttp://www.inciid.org/index.php?page=thirdparty Various articles on Third Party Reproduction Third-Party Reproduction, A Comprehensive Guide. Editor. Goldfarb, James M
{{Reproductive health
Fertility medicine
Obstetrics
Family
Human pregnancy
Human reproduction
Assisted reproductive technology
Assistive technology
Medical technology
Kinship and descent