The Hewitt Fertility Centre offers a wide range of consistently successful assisted conception treatments to suit individual needs. All of our treatments are delivered by highly trained specialists utilising cutting edge technology, giving you the best possible chance of achieving your aim of creating a family. Our rates of success are among the best in the U.K and an increasing amount of patients, both NHS and private, are looking to The Hewitt Fertility Centre for help with their Fertility concerns.
If you need to use donor sperm, there are different options available to you:
Donor Insemination (DI)
Donor Insemination is a process generally used to aid couples where the man is infertile, single women and same sex couples, donor insemination is when men with fertile sperm donate a sample to help women create a family. It is a simple method which involves taking laboratory prepared sperm and placing it directly into the womb. DI is a process used worldwide which has seen several hundred thousand children conceived over the past 50 years.
In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
The most popular treatment for infertility, this process collects eggs from the ovary and combines them with sperm in a dish. If they fertilise, one or two embryos are returned into the womb to, hopefully, produce a healthy baby. In women under 38, The Hewitt Fertility Centre is currently seeing IVF positive pregnancy rates comfortably above the national average.
Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
ICSI is a slightly modified version of IVF.
Whilst IVF combines sperm and eggs under laboratory conditions, ICSI is a more sophisticated technique which injects the sperm into the egg.
This process is generally used to help couples who have previously had unsuccessful cycles of IVF, where the male may have a low sperm count.
If you need to use donor eggs, here at The Hewitt Centre different options are available to you:
Egg Donation
Egg donation gives hope to women who previously thought they could never create a family. It is an option for those whose ovaries no longer function, for example; due to early menopause or after cancer treatment, to avoid passing on genetic disorders to children.
When using donated eggs the donated eggs are fertilised outside the body and then transferred into the womb of the recipient so she can carry her baby as normal.
When you have decided with your clinician that using donated eggs is right for you, we will offer to put you on a waiting list for a donor.
You may prefer to receive donated eggs from someone you know, such as a friend or family member.
Remember, you can always speak to a member of The Hewitt Fertility Centre team if you have any questions, with counselling available at any time during your treatment.
Egg Sharing
The UK has limited availability of donated eggs which means many women who need donated eggs are unable to access treatment. In addition to this the cost of IVF means many patients who require IVF treatment are unable to afford the treatment if they do not qualify for NHS funding.
To offer a practical solution, we provide egg sharing at the The Hewitt Fertility Centre. Here, patients who require IVF treatment and are willing to donate some of their eggs can access treatment at a reduced cost. This reduces the financial pressures on women undergoing fertility treatment as well as allowing those in need of donor eggs the life changing opportunity of having a family.
To become an egg sharer, you need to be between the ages of 21 to 35, meet the ovarian reserve criteria and have a body mass index below 30. You must also be a non-smoker with no known genetic conditions or infections that could be transmitted.
It is also important to know that at the point of treatment, the egg donor and the recipient will be anonymous to each other although the donor can be informed if the recipient’s treatment is successful. Since 2005, any child born as a result of donated eggs (or sperm) can be given identifying information about their donor once they reach the age of 18.
For more information about being an egg recipient of donated eggs or egg sharing please contact the Ovum Donation Co-Ordinator on: 0151 702 4212.
If you need to use a surrogate:
Surrogacy involves the creation of an embryo by a couple which is then placed in the womb of another woman who then carries and gives birth to the baby on their behalf. The commissioning couple may become the legal parents on applying for a parental order after the child is born.
You can see our page giving more information about surrogacy here (add link to page)