One of our favourite parts of the process was getting to choose our donor. I remember receiving a list of three potential men. I laughed and said I felt it was like being on blind date! After reading about the three guys, we both instantly knew it had to be number one. For some reason his description just jumped out at us, and we knew he was the one! I felt very emotional when we chose him.
We now have a happy healthy toddler who is our world! We will be forever thankful to the clinic – and most of all to our donor. Although we don’t know any identifying information about him, we felt we should find out as much as we could and even reach out to our donor with letters which has been made possible at our request through the clinic. We feel it is and will be hugely important and beneficial to our son that he has as much information about his donor as possible. After all, he is a huge part of what makes him him! I believe all parents of donor conceived children should be as open with their children as possible.
I’d urge any man who can to consider being a sperm donor. When I look back on what I’ve done with my life so far, my work in fertility is one of the things I’m proudest of. You’ll be sharing the talents and skills that make you special, and giving a precious gift to somebody yearning for the happiness a child of their own can bring.
There are no words to explain how I feel right now because it’s not a common feeling - a mixture of happiness and pride, and the thought that I’ve done something good.
The process of donating is not something I ever felt ashamed to be doing. I think that was mostly because I went into it with an open mind, and was encouraged to ask as many questions and be as nosey as I wanted to be. It was a simple experience that made me feel valued and proud to play my part in creating new families. And by removing any stigmas that might previously have been attached to being a donor, the andrology department have turned sperm donation into a worthwhile and rewarding experience that is, dare I say it, also a lot of fun to take part in.