- Sperm Donation is the provision by a man (known as a Sperm Donor) of his sperm (known as Donor Sperm) principally for the purpose of inseminating a woman who is not his partner.
- Sperm Donated to the intended recipient through a Sperm Bank or Fertility Clinic
- The primary recipients of donor sperm are couples suffering from Male Infertility
- When going through a sperm bank, the recipient may select donor sperm on the basis of the donor's characteristics, such as looks, personality, academic ability, race, and many other factors.
- Sperm banks or clinics are subject to varying state regulations, including restrictions on donor anonymity and number of offspring that may be produced, and there may be other legal protections of the rights and responsibilities of both recipient and donor.
- While a sperm donor is regarded as the natural or biological father of every child produced as a result of his donation, he is generally not intended to be the legal father.
- The general process of sperm donation is described as third party reproduction. Pregnancies are usually achieved using donor sperm by Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). Techniques include Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) , In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
- Donor sperm may also be used in Surrogacy arrangements either by artificially inseminating the surrogate (known as traditional surrogacy) or by implanting in a surrogate embryos which have been created by using donor sperm together with eggs from a donor or from the 'commissioning woman' (known as gestational surrogacy).
- Donor sperm may also be used for producing embryos with donor eggs which are then donated to a woman who is not genetically related to the child she produces.
- Procedures of any kind e.g. artificial insemination or IVF, using donor sperm to impregnate a woman who is not the partner of, nor related to the man who provided the sperm, may be referred to as 'donor treatments'
Screening of Sperm Donors
- Sperm banks typically screen potential donors for genetic diseases, chromosomal abnormalities and sexually transmitted infections that may be transmitted through sperm.
- The screening procedure generally also includes a quarantine period, in which the samples are frozen and stored for at least 6 months after which the donor will be re-tested for the STIs.
- This is to ensure no new infections have been acquired or have developed during the period of donation. Providing the result is negative, the sperm samples can be released from quarantine and used in treatments.