Frequently Asked Questions

Who needs a sperm donor?

Donor sperm is most often used by:

Same sex female couples
Solo women
Heterosexual couples where the male partner has a fertility issue, or a genetic condition he does not wish to pass on to a child

For most of these families, the path to parenthood has not been straight forward. And while all children are loved, children born through donation are especially loved and treasured.

Who can become a sperm donor?

We’re looking for:

Healthy men, between the ages of 18 and 45
No serious physical or mental health conditions themselves or their immediate family
Kind, altruistic and open-minded
Committed to weekly appointments for up to 6 months (Mon-Fri, 7:30am-2:00pm)
Open to future contact from donor-conceived people (but with no legal or financial responsibilities towards them)
Above-average sperm quality (we’ll test it for you!)
You don’t need proven fertility

What's the process?

It starts with a simple enquiry form
Then we’ll contact you, have a chat and arrange a semen analysis to check if you meet the ‘above average sperm quality’ criteria
If you do, we’ll ask you to complete a detailed medical questionnaire – you’ll need to be able to provide a verbal history for your biological parents, siblings, children, and grandparents
Next steps are counselling, consent appointment, sexual health screening and some basic genetic screening tests (blood tests)
Once all the results are back, weekly donation appointments for around 4-6 months
Followed by one final screening appointment 6 months later

Overall the screening and donation process will take about a year. We’ll be there to guide you every step of the way

Will being a donor affect my sex life?

We ask that donors refrain from ejaculation for 48 hours before providing a sample. If you’re only donating once a week, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem – right?!

Are sperm donors anonymous?

The short answer is no – not in the current world of online genetic testing and social media.

The long answer is that in UK law, sperm donors are identifiable to a donor-conceived person from when they reach the age of 18. This is because there is strong evidence that when people have access to information about their biological origins, they are able to lead a much healthier and happier life. The law is therefore strongly encouraging of parents to be open with their children about their conception from an early age.

Donors being identifiable is so important to donor-conceived people. But don’t let it put you off… As a donor at an HFEA licensed clinic you have will have total legal security in your position, with no legal or financial responsibility towards any children born through your donation. Plus, donor-conceived people already have their own families, they aren’t looking for a dad. Often if they contact their donor it’s because they’re curious – ‘Why do I love football when no one else in my family is interested?’ or ‘Why are my toes this weird shape?!’ For example.

However, you do need to be aware that using online genetic testing services, such as Ancestry or 23andMe, donors and donor-conceived people can find each other before the age of 18.

We’ll go over all of this in more detail at your counselling session.

Do I have to have counselling?

Donor implications counselling is not like standard counselling. It’s not for depression or anxiety, for example. It’s a space and time to consider all the different aspects of donation and whether it’s the right choice for you and your current of future family.

Implications counselling is a standard part of the process for anyone in the UK who is thinking about donating eggs, sperm or embryos, or having treatment using donated eggs, sperm or embryos. It’s considered routine best practice and part of the legal framework.

How many families can a donor help?

Legally, a sperm donor can help a maximum of 10 families in the UK to have children. However a family may consist of:

A single child
Siblings
Twins
For same sex couples, children born to either partner

The 10 family limit is in place to protect the wellbeing of donor-conceived people and donors from having too many biological half siblings/ offspring. Also, to minimise the risk of co-sanguinity (genetically related people meeting and unknowingly entering into a relationship with each other).

You do have the option to limit the maximum number of families to less than 10, however it would not be financially viable for us to accept a donor who would donate to less than 6 families.

NUH Life donors are only used in UK licensed centres, who all would contribute to the same maximum 10 family limit. We do not export donor sperm overseas.

Are there any risks to sperm donation?

The main ‘risk’ is finding out through the donation process something about your own health. For example:

Low sperm count or quality
An STI or infection you weren’t aware of having
Finding out through genetic screening that you carry a gene for cystic fibrosis, for example
Finding out through an affected child that you carry a gene for a hereditary condition

We’ll talk you through all of these possibilities as we go through the process, and if we do discover something with implications for your own health, we’ll support you to access the specialist support you need.

Do sperm donors get paid?

Donors can be reimbursed up to £45 per appointment. This is not intended as payment, but compensation for any expenses you might incur, such as travel, parking etc. It’s also the UK legal limit.

The NHS admin process is a bit of a faff unfortunately, so we normally submit your expense claims after every 8-10 visits. The bonus being it arrives a nice little lump sum.

What can sperm donors know about the families?

Legally, we can tell you:

If there are any pregnancies resulting from your donation
How many children have been born
Their year of birth
Whether they are boys or girls

Donors find this information really rewarding – to know they have helped a family – and also helpful for managing expectations about potential contact in the future.

We can’t tell you any information about the recipients (the parents), or any further information about the children conceived from your donation. The ball is in their court if they want to contact you after they turn 18.

What can families know about the donor?

We’ll ask you to fill in the HFEA Donor Information form and provide as much non-identifying information about yourself as possible. This includes your:

Ethnicity
Height and weight
Eye, hair and skin colour
Any religion or belief systems
Occupation, interests and skills – you knew learning to juggle would pay back one day!!
Reasons for donating
A goodwill message to anyone born as a result of your donation
A personal description – you might choose to talk about your childhood, education, achievements, values and life experiences. Be as open and honest as possible. There is no right or wrong answer.

We give this information to parents at the point they choose a donor, so that they can try to find a good match. Generally they are looking for some common ground or something they ‘connect’ with – a shared value or experience. We also encourage parents to share this information with their children too. When you’re filling in your form, try to imagine what a young person might want to know about you.

Then, when a donor-conceived person reaches the age of 18, when and if they want to, they can apply to the HFEA to find out their donor’s identifying information, including:

Name
Date of birth and place of birth
Last known address

What a load of hassle, why shouldn't I just donate online?

Because by donating online or informally you could be breaking the law. Sperm donation apps, websites, social media groups etc. are risky business, for donors, recipients and the donor-conceived person.

As an unregulated donor you could be:

The legal parent of any and all of the children born
Liable for child maintenance and financial support – that could add up!
Endangering the health of recipients and children, due to lack of screening
Liable for criminal prosecution if found to be processing, distributing or procuring gametes (sperm) outside of a licensed fertility clinic

There are many horror stories about unregulated sperm donation, including women being coerced into sex, custody battles, child maintenance battles, STIs, genetic conditions being passed on and donors conceiving hundreds of children. And although you might not be involved in any of that directly – do you really want to be associated with these things? Think of the impact on your own family.

Donating through a UK licensed clinic, although it can be time consuming, is the only way to protect your legal position as a donor, and safeguard parents, their children, and your own family.

You can read more about the risks of unregulated donation on the HFEA website.

What support is available if I have any concerns or questions?

We value and appreciate our donors for the incredible gift they choose to give. We are here to support you now and into the future.

The implications of donation are lifelong, and we support our donors and their families even after many years have passed. For example we have supported past donors with how to tell their own children about having donor-conceived half siblings.

Karen and Jo will be your first point of contact throughout your donation journey, you can reach them at [email protected].

We can also signpost you to different organisations and information. You may also want to read more about donation on the HFEA website Donating your sperm | HFEA

I've thought long and hard about it, now how do I start?

Congratulations! By reading all this information, you’ve taken your first steps towards becoming a sperm donor.

If you’d like to register your interest and start the next steps, click here.