Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9WL
INFORMATION FOR SEMEN DONORS
Thank you for your interest in becoming a sperm donor.
Why are sperm donors needed?
Forty per cent of women of infertile couples are unable to conceive because of abnormality or absence of sperm in their partner’s ejaculate. Artificial insemination using donor semen is the only method of treatment available to these couples who wish to have a family. In many centres, the limiting factor is the availability of suitable donors and therefore most clinics are grateful for offers from men wishing to be semen donors.
What are the donor’s requirements?
Sperm donors should be between 18 and 41 years of age. Donors are required to be fit and healthy. They should have no serious medical disability and their families should be free from any known inherited disorder. It is preferable that they are of proven fertility, but this is not essential.
What happens at your first appointment in Andrology?
You will be asked to produce a semen specimen by masturbation into a container, which we will provide, using one of our private rooms. Please abstain from intercourse or masturbation for between 2 and 7 days (3-4 is best), prior to this appointment. Potential donors must be aware that after examination a proportion of semen specimens will fail to fulfil all the required criteria but in the majority of cases this has no bearing on your potential fertility.
You will also have a blood and urine test for screening of infectious diseases.
What happens at the counsellor’s appointment?
You will have a chat with the counsellors where they will discuss the implications of sperm banking with you. They will explain to you about providing a pen portrait of yourself that will be available to any children born as a result of your sperm donation.
You would then have screening blood tests for genetic disorders and cystic fibrosis.Your partner may attend the consultation
What happens at the doctor’s appointment
Your doctor’s appointment at the Department of Reproductive Medicine will take an hour. You will need to bring with you photographic identification such as a passport or driving licence, and proof of address such as a utility bill. The doctor will take a full medical history and discuss your test results. The results of the blood tests and semen analysis including test thaw will determine if you meet our eligibility criteria to become a sperm donor. If you meet our criteria you will then be sent to Andrology to arrange sperm banking appointments.Your partner may attend the consultation.
Which tests will a donor have before he is accepted?
By law, all donors must have blood screening tests for HIV antibodies (AIDS) and Hepatitis B & C. Other blood screening tests include Syphilis, Cytomegalovirus and Cystic fibrosis. The donor’s blood group will be determined and there will be a chromosomal analysis. Donors are also screened for Gonorrhoea and Chlamydia.
Contacting your GP regarding sperm donation
Your agreement to contacting your GP for clarification of any specific details in your medical history may be sought.
How many visits will I have to make to the Hospital?
If you were accepted as a donor you would be required to attend the Andrology laboratory for about ten/fifteen appointments, usually at weekly intervals. Please be aware that these appointments are Monday to Friday.
You will need to return to the Department of Reproductive Medicine for blood tests six months after you have completed the course of donation.
Information you must disclose
You must inform the laboratory if you are taking any medicines, drugs or tablets, or have had any injections whilst you are attending the Sperm Bank (this includesthe previous 6 weeks leading up to your first appointment). We also need to know if you have had any tattoos within the last 12 months. You must inform us of any illnesses or any lifestyle changes whilst you are attending the Sperm Bank.
Future commitments
In accordance with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Guidelines, all semen samples must be cryopreserved for at least 180 days to enable a follow up blood screening tests to be performed.
Expenses
HFEA policies allow centres, from 1 April 2012, to compensate sperm donors £35 per clinic visit.
How is the semen stored?
Semen samples are stored in small, sealed bottles (ampoules) in liquid Nitrogen vapour. These ampoules are carefully labelled with your donor code, date of birth and date of freezing. A second member of staff verifies the details. Freezing needs to take place as soon as possible after the sample is produced. By law the samples can be kept up to 10 years from the date they were frozen.
HFEA
The HFEA- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority- is the body that regulates fertility treatment in the UK. All semen donors have to be registered with the HFEA. Donors can stipulate how many families they are willing to create, up to a maximum of 10 families. For more information regarding the HFEA please see their website
Legal and Financial Situation Re Guardianship
You have no legal or financial obligations to any child created from your donation. The people who receive the donation will be the legal guardians of any child that is born.
When can any offspring contact the HFEA?
When the child reaches 18 they can contact the HFEA for:
- Thedonor's full names (and any former names)
- The donor's date of birth and the town or district where born
- The donor's last known postal address (or their address recorded at the time of registration)
- The donor’s NHS number
The donor will be informed by the HFEA that enquiries have been made about them.
Will the Donor be held responsible if achild born from donation is disabled in any way?
No. However, it is your responsibility to inform us of any genetic or inheritable diseases which present themselves in your immediate family. Failure to do so is an offence and it is the right of any child resulting from this to sue the clinic for damages. The court might require the HFEA to disclose the donor’s identity under the Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liabilities) Act of 1976.
What information will the recipient be given about the donor?
All information will be non-identifying. An attempt will be made to match donor and recipient physical characteristics.
What information will the donor be given about the recipient?
No information is given about the recipient. You may however ask whether your sperm has produced pregnancies and how many pregnancies.
Support
If you have any questions before, during or after your donation you can contact our staff who will be happy to discuss them with you.
Andrology laboratory0161 276 6473
Sperm donation email address
Counsellors: Anne Curley or Bev Loftus0161 276 6800
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V9/11/12/2013FRM/DRM/AND/101
Authorised by Genette Lloyd