The relevance of using donor sperm in ART programs from the point of view of medical workers in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Relevance: The use of donor sperm in ART programs has recently become increasingly relevant due to new social challenges. Kazakhstan is no exception, and many clinics widely use male donor material. The question of the attitude of various sociological groups, including medical workers themselves, to the use of donor sperm remains open. There is no common understanding of what rules should govern procedures using donor material, the true purpose of donors and the quality of the biological material provided.

The study aimed to determine the relevance of the use of donor sperm (DS) in assisted reproductive technology (ART) programs from the position of medical workers in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the importance of maintaining and recording the use of DS.

Materials and methods: Analysis and data collection were conducted using an anonymous online Google Forms survey. Sixty-nine respondents from Kazakhstan took part in the survey. The survey was conducted over two months, February-March 2023. Statistical processing of the initially obtained indicators was carried out using the descriptive statistics program of the computer software package "Statistica 8.0" (StatSoft, Russia). The Z-test and chi-square test were used to compare categorical variables. The significance of the differences in the compared parameters was determined starting from a value of p<0.05. Qualitative variables are described by absolute (n) and relative (%) values with confidence intervals (CI).

Results: The survey showed that most respondents directly implementing ART programs have been working in this field for more than 10 years and are expert specialists. According to 80.7% of specialists, altruism is not a motivating factor for gamete donors' participation in ART programs; most donors pursue a specific material goal. Financial motivation may be the reason for unreliable or incomplete information, which is very important for recipients. Despite this, the majority of medical workers associated with the field of reproductive medicine spoke in favor of the use of donor material, as well as objective control programs using donor gametes.

Conclusion: The readiness and consent of specialists in the field of ART to introduce accounting and control over the use of donor material served as the basis for initiating the process of creating a unified register of sex gametes in the country.