You might need donor sperm to help you start a family for a number of reasons including being: a man with very low sperm count or no sperm, a same-sex couple or, a single woman.
- Finding donor sperm
- There are two main ways to find donor sperm, using:
1. An anonymous donor – Men who have donated their sperm in the hope of giving someone the opportunity to have a family.
2. A known donor – Sperm is donated at the clinic by someone you know or a donor you have met through an introduction website. - Choosing a fertility clinic
- Realize that sperm from commercial banks is very, very safe. Trust me, this field is highly FDA regulated.Donors are extensively screened for 1) familial cancers and inherited disorders, 2) normal semen quality, and 3) a large panel of sexually transmitted diseases (repeatedly). Maybe that is why fewer than 5% of less than 5% of the men attempting to become sperm donors are chosen.
- Many personality and appearance features found in the description of banked sperm donors are not reliably passed on to recipients as these tend to be complex genetic traits. You are much better served basing your selection of a donor on more genetically simple traits such as ethnicity, hair and eye color.
- Donor sperm is generally used with “low tech” assisted reproduction, also called IUI or intrauterine insemination.
- Timed to the ovulation, the insemination is a quick office procedure that is similar in complexity to a PAP smear.
- Pregnancy rates with anonymous donor sperm approach that of normal fertile couples.
- Early on, consider banking enough sperm to build an entire family, as sperm from the same donor may not be available later on. Sperm banks typically “pull” a donor’s sperm off market after a certain number of pregnancies.
- A donor sperm pregnancy is typically 10 times cheaper and occurs 5 times faster than the typical adoption process.
- You and your partner should discuss and agree upon whether or not you will eventually disclose the use of donor sperm with your child.
- The vast majority of couples who chose the donor sperm route have absolutely no regrets and are typically thrilled by how much the child resembles them.