Donor Sperm:What are the top questions to ask?
Male factor infertility affects more than 30% of all couples having difficulty conceiving.
For Men’s Health Week 2020 we championed Nick Dalton @themaleinfertilitypodcast and his initiative to spread awareness and break the taboo around male factor infertility. If you haven’t already checked out his Podcast- make sure to. Nick speaks upon his own experience dealing with an Azoospermia diagnosis, his journey using donor sperm (he is now expecting!) and offers psychological support on how to deal with a male infertility diagnosis.
We wanted to find out more about the sperm donor process so we reached out to Cryos International for an in depth interview.
What should you know when considering donor sperm?
Cryos answers the top questions to ask when deciding to purchase donor sperm in the USA or Europe.
How are donors selected and screened?
Cryos donors are selected and screened according to our extensive quality assurance procedures and policies for donor recruitment. Only 5-10% of applicants with high quality sperm are accepted. Sperm donors are evaluated based on their
risk factors,
family medical history,
in depth interviews,
a psychological evaluation, and
a medical physical by our experienced healthcare professionals.
Candidates with a family history of serious hereditary mental and/or physical diseases are rejected. Approved donors are tested for infectious diseases on an ongoing basis. In addition, all Cryos donors are genetically karyotyped. We continuously evaluate our genetic screening program and are now screening sperm donors for 46 recessively inherited diseases.
A Cryos sperm donor is given the option to be a Non-ID Release or an ID Release type of donor. This allows them the opportunity to decline or accept to be contacted in the future by the child (when they reach 18 years old in most countries). Donors also choose whether they want to have a basic or extended profile. You can see examples of these types of profiles when you view our free donor search.
How many times can you donate sperm?
There is no limit to how many times an approved donor can donate sperm, however we do limit the number of families per country allowed to have children from the donor based on each country’s national quota. A national quota sets a limit to the maximum number of families allowed to use the same donor in that country. Once a national quota is reached, we can no longer deliver sperm from that donor to that country.
Most countries worldwide have a family cap of 25 families. Currently, the US has no national quotas in place and reporting a pregnancy is not required for anyone having a donor child.
What are the legal requirements regarding anonymity?
The client should understand and accept that the identity of a Non-ID Release donor will never be disclosed by Cryos. Regardless of whether a donor is Non-ID Release or ID Release, the client guarantees that no attempts will be made to search for or to trace donors. This includes searching for the donor’s identity or any information that can lead to the disclosure of the identity, or the identity of other relatives and/or offspring of the donors
If the donor is an ID Release donor, Cryos will disclose the identity of the donor to clinics and authorities in countries where this is mandatory before or in relation to import or treatment. Cryos will also disclose the identity of the donor to the child, at the donor child’s request once the child has reached the age of 18. The child must document, or render probable, that he/she is the result of a pregnancy with donor gametes from a specific ID Release donor from Cryos.
While the donor may have initially agreed to meet the child, Cryos has no responsibility if the donor changes his mind in the future and decides not to meet the child.
Current legislation only allows for ID Release donors both in the UK and in Ireland.
Can the donor contact the donor conceived child?
No. Cryos donors have relinquished all rights to contact the donor conceived child. The donor cannot initiate contact with the donor children.
Can the recipient choose to contact the donor?
No. Only children of ID Release donors can learn the identity of an ID Release sperm donor at the age of 18. They need to be able to provide a document or render probable that they are the result of a conception from a Cryos sperm donor.
If you are considering using donor sperm, we hope this information is useful. Nick Dalton @themaleinfertilitypodcast has a great resource on his podcast covering the psychological aspects of using donor sperm, make sure to check it out.