What Does
Third-Party Reproduction Mean?
Third-party reproduction refers to a pregnancy achieved with contributions (gametes or gestation) from more than two people. This allows same-sex couples, single individuals, or individuals and couples experiencing infertility, to become parents.
FertilitySmarts Explains Third-Party Reproduction
There are multiple scenarios in which third-party reproduction take place. These include:
- Use of donor eggs – From either a known or unknown donor. Often used in cases of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), where a woman does not have a sufficient supply of healthy eggs or with male same-sex partners. This could also include a spindle transfer to prevent mitochondrial disease.
- Use of donor sperm – From either a known or unknown donor. Often used in cases of male-factor infertility, single women, or same-sex couples.
- Use of door embryo – When individuals or couples choose to donate remaining frozen embryos after they are finished having children, so they can be transferred to another individual or couple.
- Traditional surrogate – The woman carrying the pregnancy also contributes her egg and thus, her DNA, and is biologically related to the child.
- Gestational carrier – The woman carrying the pregnancy has no genetic connection to the child. The egg used in conception did not belong to her. Often used in cases of unterine-factor infertility.
Sperm donor pregnancies can be achieved through artificial insemination, while other procedures require In vitro fertilization (IVF).