Becoming a Sperm Donor
Thousands of individuals and couples across the United Kingdom require donor sperm each year to start the family they have always dreamed of.
Whether you are yet to start a family yourself, or if you have already completed your family, becoming a sperm donor could help to make other people’s dreams come true.
With a growing need for donated sperm in the UK, there is an increasing lack of sperm donors. You can help provide the gift these individuals need to take the first steps to becoming a family.
There are many reasons why people consider using donated sperm. In heterosexual relationships or in the case of single men proceeding with surrogacy treatment, these men are sometimes unable to produce sperm.
Other men may carry a genetic abnormality which might be passed on to the child if their own sperm were used. Single women or women in a same sex relationship may wish to use donor sperm to enable them to start a family.
The law allows any one donor’s sperm to be used to create up to 10 families in the UK (although you are able to limit this number within the consent you will be required to complete if you so wish).
The sperm donation process is simple and you will be guided through the entire process by our experienced and caring reproductive specialists every step of the way.
If you are considering becoming a sperm donor and donating your sperm to give another person or couple the chance to have a child, it is essential that you fully understand what will be involved and have had the opportunity to consider any implications for the future.
Why donate sperm?
With an estimated 1 in 7 couples in the UK, struggling to conceive, male factor infertility accounts for up to 30% of these cases.
If you are aged between 18 and 45 and are healthy, there is probably no reason why you shouldn’t consider becoming a sperm donor and help other people in this way.
Independent counselling services are available throughout your donation process to help provide the support you may need.
Meet the Sperm Donor team
the Agora clinic is the largest provider of fertility services in Sussex, with the highest live birth rate per embryo transfer of any IVF clinic in London and the South East of England.
We make it our goal to support everyone who wants help to have a family, regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation. The Agora is recognised as the leading authority on LGBTQ+Q+ parenting in the UK, having helped hundreds of couples and individuals.
Our Success Rates
The HFEA, encourage clinics to display their success rates in a way that makes it easy for you to compare clinics, and is both ethical and transparent.
We know that, for many people, the journey to becoming a parent is challenging, both medically and emotionally.
It can sometimes involve invasive procedures, uncertainty over the outcome and, in some cases, difficult financial decisions. We believe that our commitment to exceptional patient support sets us apart, and this has been recognised through a number of awards.
With fertility clinics in Brighton, Eastbourne and Worthing we provide the full range of fertility services in Sussex, and work closely with NHS CCGs in West Sussex and East Sussex.
Becoming a Sperm Donor
Becoming a sperm donor is simple and you can complete the process in just 5 steps.
1. Initial online application
Our online application form is designed to determine your suitability to become a donor through a series of short and easy questions. You will be asked to provide answers on a variety of relevant topics. At this stage you will not be asked your reasons for donation or specifics on lifestyle factors as this will be covered later on whilst completing the necessary donor acceptability assessment with a medical clinician and the completion of legal consent forms prior to donation.
2. Semen Analysis
In order to establish if you would be a suitable sperm donor, your semen will need to be assessed. Our team of experienced Reproductive Scientists will analyse your sample under the microscope, assessing the concentration, motility and morphology (shape) of the sperm present in the semen sample. These factors provide a good indication of the quality of a sperm sample and its potential to lead to a successful pregnancy when used in fertility treatment. All results will of course be treated confidentially.
3. Consultation and Screening
- Counselling
When becoming a sperm donor you will be asked to see one of our fertility counsellors during this interim period (before donation) to discuss the implication of sperm donation. This allows you time to consider all the aspects of sperm donation and the information necessary to provide consent to proceed. The implications of being a sperm donor will be discussed in detail, including the implications of there possibly being half siblings to your own children in the local area . You will also have the opportunity to explore the legalities of sperm donation in the UK. Failure to attend counselling will exclude you from sperm donation.
- Consultation
As part of the suitability assessment, the medical and nursing teams will be required to carry out a physical examination of the testes to determine if there is any cause for concern in their appearance i.e. volume or evidence of varicoceles, genital warts or herpes etc. A full medical and family history will be obtained and a welfare of the child assessment will be made.
You cannot donate your sperm if you are known to have a particular gene, chromosome or mitochondrial abnormality that, if inherited by any child born as a result of the donation, may result in that child having or developing, a serious physical or mental disability, a serious illness or any other serious medical condition.
- Screening
In order to provide samples of your sperm for use in the treatment of others we must ensure that you test negative for certain infectious diseases.
Negative results must be obtained for HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, HTLV and CMV* within the last three months (prior to the start of your donation).
Other screening may be required depending upon individual risk factors, travel history and ethnicity. Normal karyotype and negative cystic fibrosis carrier screening will also be required but will be assessed after you have donated.
*If CMV is positive, this does not necessarily mean you cannot donate we will just need to establish that you do not have a current infection at the time of producing samples for donation.
- Consent
When becoming a sperm donor there are a number of HFEA and Agora clinic consent forms that need to be completed prior to sperm donation. You will be asked to place conditions on the use and storage of your sperm, and the embryos created using your sperm within the treatment of the recipient.
It is important that you have all the information you require before completing these forms and providing consent. You can change your mind and vary or withdraw your consent at any time up until the embryo(s) has/have been transferred.
You can specify extra conditions for using and storing your sperm or embryos created using your sperm. However, a donor cannot specify conditions that are incompatible with the Equality Act 2010, thus asking the clinic to treat a person less favourably because of a protected characteristic. The protected characteristics could include: age, disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and marriage/civil partnership.
4. Donation
You will be required to attend The Agora clinic to provide samples for donation. The frequency of appointments and the total number of samples to be provided will be dependent on the quality of the samples and will be discussed between yourself and the team of specialists at The Agora. Every possible precaution will be taken to protect your anonymity whilst providing samples for donation at the clinic and all results will be treated confidentially.
5. Bloods
Repeat blood tests will be required 3 months after your last sample has been provided. These again will be for; HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, HTLV and CMV. This is to establish that you did not become infected with any of these diseases whilst providing samples for donation. It is your responsibility to inform the clinic of any activities you have undertaken that may have deemed you at higher risk of contracting one of these diseases throughout the donation process so that the clinic can act accordingly.
6. Release of your samples for use in treatment
Once the results from the final blood tests are back and it has been established that you have not contracted any infectious diseases, during the time you were providing samples for donation, your samples can then be used in the treatment of others. You will be informed once your samples are deemed safe for use in treatment. Once the samples have been released for use, you will receive the balance of your expense payments in full.
Becoming a Sperm Donor – Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to donate sperm?
Eligibility of an individual to donate sperm is based on the following criteria:
- Aged between 18 and 45
- Completion of a full donor suitability health questionnaire regarding family history and lifestyle factors. Physical examination from a medical clinician will also be required.
- Negative results for HIV, hepatitis B surface antigen and core antibody, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, and STIs within the last three months. Other screening may be required depending upon individual risk factors, travel history and ethnicity
- Normal karyotype and negative cystic fibrosis carrier screening
- Body mass index (BMI) of less than 30
- Consent to the Agora contacting your GP
- No personal or family history of any congenital, familial or hereditary disease
- Non-smoker
If you have no knowledge of your family’s medical history, as may be the case if you were adopted, you will not be eligible to donate sperm.
Who will receive the donated sperm?
There are many reasons why people consider using donated sperm. In heterosexual relationships or in the case of single men proceeding with surrogacy treatment, these men are sometimes unable to produce sperm.
Other men may carry a genetic abnormality which might be passed on to the child if their own sperm were used. Single women or women in a same sex relationship may wish to use donor sperm to enable them to start a family.
The law allows any one donor’s sperm to be used to create up to 10 families in the UK (although you are able to limit this number within the consent you will be required to complete if you so wish).
Who are the legal parents?
You will not be the legal parent of any child born from your donation. In the UK, any woman who gives birth to a baby is the legal mother. In the case of sperm donation, her partner is the legal parent provided they are married or there is written consent to treatment and they are being treated together as a couple. So, the child’s birth certificate would state that the recipients were the legal parents.
What happens if you change your mind?
As a sperm donor you retain the right to withdraw or vary your consent to the use and storage of your sperm, or the use and storage of embryos created with your sperm, at any time up to the point of embryo transfer into the recipient’s uterus.
You will not be liable for any costs associated with your donor screening.
Who are the HFEA?
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is the UK’s independent regulator overseeing the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research.
The HFEA licenses fertility clinics and centres carrying out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), other assisted conception procedures and human embryo research.
What is the HFEA Register?
The HFEA is required to maintain a Register of highly confidential information about people who have licensed treatment, the donors and the children who are born. Each clinic is legally required to collect certain information about donors. This includes your name, physical characteristics, ethnic origin and family medical history.
You are also asked to provide as much information as possible about your interests, hobbies and skills, to describe why you decided to be a sperm donor and to write a pen-portrait. This gives the child and family a sense of the kind of person you are and for many children this information will be important for them to have a complete sense of their own identity.
Any child born as a result of sperm donation will be genetically related to your own children – they will be half brothers or sisters in genetic terms. The law allows any one donor’s sperm to be used to create up to 10 families (although you are able to limit this number within the consent you will be required to complete if you so wish). The law gives anyone who is planning to embark on a sexual relationship or to marry the right to contact the HFEA and ask whether they are genetically related to their intended partner.
What information can you have about the outcome?
You may ask about:
- the number of children (if any) conceived by your donation
- whether they are boys or girls
- the year that they were born
What information can recipients have?
All recipients can ask the clinic for your non-identifying information, before deciding to proceed. If they have a child as a result of treatment they can then ask the HFEA for:
- the non-identifying information that you will have provided, including anonymised information contained on the HFEA donor form you completed
- the number and sex of other children (if any) conceived by your donation
- the year that they were born
Who can know your name?
The recipient/s of your donated sperm is/are not able to find out your identity and you are not able to know theirs. At the age of 16 a child born from donation can contact the HFEA and request all non-identifying information provided by their donor. Once they reach the age of 18, they can ask disclosing information such as name, date of birth and last known address.
If a donor-conceived person does ask for your name and contact details, they will first be offered counselling and the HFEA will try to contact you to advise you that the information has been requested. This means that it is vital that you keep us or the HFEA up to date with your contact details.
What financial compensation is available?
You are entitled to financial compensation for donation due to potential loss of earnings and expenses for things such as travel and childcare whilst taking the time to donate. The maximum payment that can be given is £45 per clinic visit up to a maximum of £985 in total.
The number of ejaculates provided will be specified by The Agora based on sample quality and is not subject to review based on financial gain. Payment will be made once all ejaculates have been provided. Please note that it is illegal to pay a sperm donor more than the reasonable expenses stated above.
Further Information
- The National Gamete Donation Trust www.ngdt.co.uk
- Donating your sperm | Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (hfea.gov.uk)