Genetic compatibility testing

[Eiremogra]

Hi all, DP and I will be traveling to Spain this week to get some investigations done prior to our DE treatment. We have been asked if we want to add GCT testing to our list of investigations. We really are not sure what to do here. The donor (egg) will be put through a huge amount of testing prior to treatment so it’s really if we feel we feel we would benefit from my DP undergoing the same testing. Realistically we have to think of the financial impact too. Has anyone had this testing done?x

Hi OP. We're using donor sperm but it's a similar thing with the genetic testing. We have had two different donors from two different sperm banks, and we did it with one donor but not the other.

The reason we did it with the first donor was:

1. He had a condition that we were concerned about, that would be dangerous for the baby if I were to also have the gene and they inherited it.
2. The general testing done by the sperm bank, whilst quite thorough, was not as thorough as some others. The test we paid for also involved more in depth testing of the donor.

With the second donor, he didn't have anything that concerned us, and we were very happy with the level of testing that was done by that sperm bank.

So, I would say, it really depends on the individual donor, the tests that already have been done, and your own situation.

Overall, I think it is worth it for peace of mind if you have any doubts. If you are able to find out these things, why wouldn't you? It reduces the risk of your child inheriting a nasty genetic condition. If you have that within your control, then I feel it's worth doing. Do you know anything about the donor's genetic conditions prior to making your decision?

Our clinic had two levels of genetic testing available for DH and we went with the lower level one.
Even without paying for the compatibility test they rule out a lot of conditions.
I think the higher level tests were going to take longer and it was during the pandemic too and everything was complicated.

I would say, any tests at all that you're going to do, do them in Spain while you're there. It's cheaper and they know what they're doing.
And freeze a sample of sperm if you haven't already. If something random prevents your DP from travelling for egg collection at least the eggs can still be fertilised to create your embryos.

The clinic I went to first, when I was still thinking of using donor sperm, didnt even have the option of not doing a genetic compatibility test. It was a standard in the package.
Same for if you went for double donation.