Sperm Donation
You may be recommended to consider using donor sperm if:
you are not producing sperm of your own
your own sperm is unlikely to result in a pregnancy
you have a high risk of passing on an inherited disease
Using donated sperm* is a important decision and you should take your time to think about whether it’s right for you. You may want to discuss your feelings with friends, family or a professional counsellor before going ahead.
Do you need to pay for a donor?
In the UK, it’s illegal to pay a donor anything other than expenses. This means that most donors donate for altruistic reasons rather than financial gain. The expenses limit is £35 for sperm donors. Normally the donor’s expenses should be covered in your overall treatment cost but you should check this with your clinic.
Are there any risks from using donated sperm?
If you use a donor through a licensed UK fertility clinic there are very few risks. Your donor’s family history will be checked to make sure they don’t have any serious genetic diseases that could be passed onto any children you conceive. They will also be screened for infections including HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and gonorrhoea. If you’re using a donation from someone you know, but are still having treatment at a clinic, they will go through all the same checks.
Expanded carrier screening (ECS) or testing involves identifying simultaneously the presence or the absence of many gene variants which might be associated with different conditions of varying severity and predictability. Although the HFEA provide guidance to UK fertility clinics about donor screening in the HFEA’s Code of Practice, there is currently no national guidance in the UK specific to ECS. The HFEA does not require UK fertility clinics to carry out ECS and gamete donors are not required to have had this screening. You should discuss any questions that you may have about ECS with your fertility clinic.
How can I find a donor?
The safest option is to either find a donor from your clinic and use them in your treatment at the clinic. This ensures the donor will be given health checks and will be supported through the process with information and counselling, minimising the chance of complications down the line.
Some clinics have a list of sperm, egg or embryo donors that you can choose from, however, waiting lists can be long. It’s possible for UK clinics to import sperm, eggs or embryos from abroad. However there are strict conditions that need to be met. You’ll need to find a licenced UK clinic who offers import/export services.
Does the donor have any rights to children conceived from their donation?
If you’re having treatment at a licensed fertility clinic in the UK, your donor will have no legal rights or responsibilities to any children born with their sperm, eggs or embryos. This means:
They will have no legal obligation to any children conceived from their donation.
They won’t be named on the birth certificate.
They won’t have any rights over how the child will be brought up.
They won’t be required to support the child financially.
If you don’t have treatment with a licensed clinic the situation is more complicated. There’s a risk that your donor will be considered a parent by law – with all the rights and responsibilities that brings. Talk to a solicitor to find out more about how this might apply to you.
What can I find out about a potential donor?
If you use a donor through your fertility clinic you’ll be able to find out:
A physical description (height, weight, eye and hair colour)
The year and country of birth
Their ethnicity
Whether they had any children at the time of donation, how many and their gender
Their marital status
Their medical history
A personal description and goodwill message to any potential children (if they chose to write one at the time of their donation).
You won’t be able to find out any information that might reveal who the donor is.
Going overseas
Some people choose to travel abroad for donor treatment. This may be because the cost of treatment is lower or that there is a greater availability of donors. If you are going overseas for treatment because you have heard that waiting lists are long in the UK, you may want to check with a different clinic. Although some clinics report having long waiting lists, some may have shorter waiting times.
If you plan to go abroad for treatment, it is important to remember that different safety and legal rules may apply.
Before going ahead with treatment abroad, you should carry out thorough research on:
Standards and safety issues abroad
Legal issues surrounding donors and parental responsibility
The process involved in recruiting and screening donors
Whether there are any limits on the number of families that can be created per donor
What information you can access about the donor and what information the child will be able to access. HFEA don’t collect information about fertility treatments that have taken place in overseas clinics. As a result, children born from donor treatment abroad will not be able to access information from us about their donor.
It is important to remember that if you go to a UK-licensed fertility clinic, the donor has no legal responsibility, or rights, towards the child. This is not necessarily the case when treatment takes place in other countries.
*Please be aware that donating genetic material for use by other people, or for research purposes, involves complex Halachic questions with potentially far-reaching ramifications. As such, it is essential to consult with a Rabbinic authority with specific expertise in this area when deciding upon a course of action. Chana is happy to support you in arranging this, if you would find this helpful.
References - https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/
https://fertilitynetworkuk.org/trying-to-conceive/fertility-treatment/fertility-treatment-options/
The above content is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your GP or Doctor if you have any questions regarding your health.