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Has anyone experienced a failed pregnancy due to the sperm donor?

kpj812812kpj812812 Posts: 21
in Ask California Cryobank
Hello,

I'm curious if anyone has identified that their sperm donor was able to get them pregnant but couldn't hold a viable pregnancy due to a paternal issue? I'm not sure if this is even something that can be identified but I'm getting concerned that our sperm donor has problems. He has over 5 pregnancies and has been in the system for 2 years but has no live births. I know of another mother by this donor that had a miscarriage and recently we also suffered one.

We are getting our remaining embryos tested as well as the miscarried fetus. I'm concerned that if we find out it's an issue with the embryos we won't be able to know whether it was a paternal or maternal issue and I'm worried that we could go through more miscarriages. I'd like to be able to determine if it's as easy as picking a new sperm donor.

Has anyone experienced something like this? I'm hoping my ramble above makes sense. It's hard to put in writing.

Thanks!!

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    MaldivesMaldives Posts: 16
    Hi kpj812812 - might I ask who your donor is? I have had 3 failed transfers and also a miscarriage at 8 weeks with one donor. Unfortunately testing on the miscarried fetus failed to provide any insight as pathology accidentally destroyed my sample with fixative - long story but needless to say just added to our distress. I have felt that these failures were largely due to me and have had a number of tests as a result but I would be very intrigued to know if perhaps we were using the same donor. I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss and wish you all the very best going forward.
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    kpj812812kpj812812 Posts: 21
    Hi Maldives, Thanks for reaching out! I'm sorry to hear about your Miscarriage. We also lost ours at 8 weeks. We are using donor 14466. I'm also now curious if we are using the same donor! If we are I'll definitely be switching. Best of luck to you.
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    MaldivesMaldives Posts: 16
    Hi kpj812812 - we are using different donors! I totally understand, it's always tough to decide if it's the right time to switch and possibly try someone new, particularly as there was a strong connection/draw that brought you to this donor in the first place. I'm sorry I haven't helped figure out this puzzle, but I wish you all the very best in this journey. Here's hoping that the second half of 2017 goes in a much happier direction for both of us.
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    cryo-admincryo-admin Posts: 4,536
    Hi Ladies,

    We are very sorry to hear about your loss and hope you are doing as well as possible given this difficult situation. I wanted to share some information from our Genetics Department manager, Pamela Callum, MS, LCGC:

    It is important to know that just because you experienced a miscarriage, this does not mean that you cannot have a live born child or that there is a genetic factor from you or the donor that contributed to the loss.

    Unfortunately, miscarriages are extremely common. It is likely that we will receive reports of miscarriages from use of every donor’s specimens. Even if one woman has a miscarriage, it does not influence another woman’s chance of getting pregnant because she has a different health and fertility history.

    You may be interested in exploring the websites of these organizations that offer information and support due to this experience:

    March of Dimes -
    http://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/miscarriage.aspx

    Resolve -
    http://www.resolve.org/about-infertility/medical-conditions/common-causes-of-miscarriage.html

    ASRM:
    http://www.reproductivefacts.org/news-and-publications/patient-fact-sheets-and-booklets/fact-sheets-and-info-booklets/what-is-recurrent-pregnancy-loss-rpl/

    One of the most common causes of miscarriages is chromosome abnormalities. In most cases, neither of the parents has the chromosome abnormality themselves. They occur brand new in the embryos. There are inherited chromosome abnormalities; however, we perform a chromosome analysis on each donor to rule out the possibility that they have a major structural chromosome abnormalities that could increase the rate of miscarriage above the general population risks. You will find this donor’s result on his Genetic Test Summary, and it may be useful to discuss this with your physician, given your concerns.

    Donor 14466's vials first became available just one year ago in May 2016, so he is still a new donor and some of the first pregnancies from this donor are still ongoing. It may also be helpful for you to know that our Genetics staff actively monitor all reports of medical issues in pregnancies and offspring of our donors. If they learned of any new significant risk to a donor’s offspring, or increased risk of miscarriage, that would change our management of the donor. Please see our website here for additional information: https://cryobank.com/services/genetic-counseling/genetics-faqs/#answerMedicalInfo

    Please keep in mind that you can always speak to one of our Genetics Counselors by calling 877-743-6384 (Monday - Friday). They're happy to answer any questions you might have.

    Regards,

    Nicole
    CCB
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    kpj812812kpj812812 Posts: 21
    Maldives - Best of luck to you!

    Cryobank - Thanks for the great response! I feel better.
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    SmggirlSmggirl Posts: 5
    My miscarriage from this donor was genetically tested and it was due to a trisomy from the maternal side.
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