Sperm donor

From ArticleWorld

The term, sperm donor, is used to describe an adult male who consents to giving away or selling his sperm, usually as a part of a sperm donation program or sperm bank. Men between the ages of 18-25 comprise the bulk of sperm donors.

Evaluation

Each man must pass an extensive set of criteria before being accepted including, genetic acceptability, medical health, personal interview regarding health and sexual practices and an investigation of his family’s medical history. If he passes the initial steps, he must undergo an evaluation of his ejaculate which includes a measure of the quantity and quality of his sperm cells. Generally, sperm donation programs only accept the highest quality sperm samples so that only about 5-10% of men while actually be accepted.

Indications

Sperm donors are used in four primary areas. (1) A single woman who desires pregnancy can select an anonymous sperm donor from a list that includes racial, physical and intellectual information on each donor. In many cases, the woman is then directly inseminated with the sperm. (2) A lesbian couple can use a sperm donor in a manner similar to a single woman. (3) A couple who has some aspect of male infertility or an unacceptable genetic probability in the male will select a sperm donor and will use the sperm either in direct female insemination or as part of an in-vitro fertilization procedure. (4) A sperm donor can also be someone that the woman or couple knows. In these cases, the sperm donor is usually not compensated.

Social issues

Although sperm donation programs and sperm banks rely on men who wish to remain anonymous, there is considerable debate over whether or not the donor and/or the child resulting from his donation have the legal or moral right to know the identities of each other. As a general rule, sperm donors wish to remain anonymous at the time of donation; however, some suffer from a longstanding curiosity and later wonder about the identity of their offspring. The children of sperm donors can feel the same way. In the US, however, the only applicable law is one that allows the child to know the donor’s identity when they reach the age of 18 years.