Choosing the ethnicity of our sperm donor

Hello,

my spouse and I are going to use donor sperm. We are both Caucasian but would like our baby to be a little bit dark-skinned, is it possible? We live in Jamestown, ND.

Thanks for your help

Dear Benjamin,

most patients willing to undergo sperm donation with a known donor find physical characteristics of the donor a major issue to consider before getting started with this fertility treatment. Ethnic background, basic body build, eye and hair color, etc. are among the most common aspects kept in mind when choosing the profile of your sperm donor.

In the US, patients can establish their basic criteria in these aspects, and then your sperm bank of fertility clinic will match you with that donor that matches your preferences. Besides, if they know some basic genetics, the process may become even easier. Another option may be that you choose a friend, relative or acquaintance to be your donor, but it should be clear that he will have to go though a screening process before being accepted.

You should also take into consideration that certain pigmentations are either recessive or dominant. Bearing this in mind, it may become necessary to look back through the donor’s family history to get an idea of what will be the characteristics your baby will actually develop. For instance, a donor with brown hair can be carrying a recessive gene for blonde hair, that could be expressed as blonde hair in your baby in case the woman was also a carrier of that gene.

The following article may be of interest: Sperm donation in the USA.

Keeping in mind these factors when choosing your donors, you won’t have further problems with the process 🙂

I wish you all the best