Women using donor sperm may be more likely to get pregnant if the man is aged 40 and older rather than younger, say British scientists.
The first major study to investigate the effect of male age on fertility treatment using donor sperm found no difference in the rate of live babies born whether the man was in his 40s or 20s.
In fact, women were slightly more likely to have a baby if the sperm was donated by a middle-aged man, probably because he’s already proved his fertility by having a family of his own.
Current UK guidelines suggest men should not be accepted as donors over the age of 40, but experts say it may be time for a re-think to ease the growing shortage of sperm donors.
The first major study to investigate the effect of male age on fertility at the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life found it is sperm quality rather than a donor's age that matters when it comes to conception
At least one-quarter of donor sperm used in British fertility clinics comes from abroad, much of it from Denmark.
The results of the study are to be reported tomorrow at the Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Munich.
The study looked at 40,000 treatment cycles involving donor sperm between 1991 and 2012 from the database held by the UK fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
The findings showed no significant differences in the rate of live babies born relative to the age of the sperm donor.
For sperm donors aged under 20, the birth rate using IVF techniques was 28.3 per cent – rising to 30.4 per cent when the donors was aged 41-45 years.
In donor insemination patients, the birth rate was 9.7 per cent with a donor aged under 20 and 12 per cent with a donor aged 41-45.
Dr Meenakshi Choudhary, from the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, Newcastle upon Tyne, led the study with colleague Dr Navdeep Ghuman.
Dr Choudhary said ‘No decline in live births was observed with the increasing age of men, that’s the take home message from a large national database.
‘It’s sperm quality rather than male age that matters.
‘Our study shows that we are good at selecting the right sperm donors with the right sperm quality – and that’s why we found no difference in live birth rate despite the increasing age of sperm donors.’
Although the figures reveal a trend of women being slightly less likely to get pregnant using sperm from younger donors, this could be explained by the fact that they may not have proven fertility, she said.
Older men wanting to donate sperm probably already have a family, said Dr Choudhary, a consultant in reproductive medicine and gynaecology.
Researchers found women were slightly more likely to have a baby if the sperm was donated by a middle-aged man, probably because he¿s already proved his fertility by having a family of his own
UK experts are concerned about acute shortages of donor sperm and eggs for couples desperate to start a family.
A change in UK law in 2005 requiring donors to reveal their identities to any children born as a result when they reach 18 is blamed by some for long waiting lists.
Demand for sperm has been fuelled by single women and women delaying motherhood, according to the HFEA.
The HFEA’s code of practice recommends clinics don’t use sperm donors over 45, but guidelines for doctors suggest 40 as the cut-off point.
The study included older men because the data goes back in time beyond recent guidelines.
Dr Choudhary said the average age of sperm donors at her unit had risen from 26 years to 34 years since the lifting of anonymity.
This meant worried women were asking whether their chances of getting pregnant would be harmed by using sperm from older donors, she said, but ‘it may be better’.
'No decline in live births was observed with the increasing age of men, that’s the take home message from a large national database. It’s sperm quality rather than male age that matters'
- Dr Meenakshi Choudhary, from the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life
It was her job to produce the data, and the HFEA as policy-maker could decide whether it should lead to a relaxation of the age limit, she added.
However, Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust, said ‘Given the need for more sperm donors in the UK, perhaps it is time for the guidelines on sperm donation to be reviewed in light of this study, to consider extending the upper age limit.’
There are doubts about using sperm from older donors because it has been linked to greater risk of miscarriage, pregnancy loss and birth defects.
‘Advanced paternal age has also been associated with long-term disorders in offspring. But the available evidence is limited’ said Dr Choudhary.
Professor Allan Pacey, chair of the British Fertility Society, said the rise in such disorders is ‘very small but detectable’.
‘The study shows success rates from donor sperm up to the age of 45 are unaffected by age, but it does not answer the question about the health of the children’ he added.
Prof Pacey, senior lecturer in reproduction and developmental medicine at the University of Sheffield, said ‘I think I would be worried about raising the age limit for sperm donors to 45 because of the possible effects on the health of children.’
He said that for every 100 men who apply to be sperm donors, only about five are accepted. A quarter of all donated sperm used in clinics was imported from outside the UK.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2674888/Sperm-donations-men-40s-likely-result-pregnancy-study-finds.html#ixzz368zHMNGP
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