Sperm donation is a fertility treatment that allows couples suffering from severe male factor infertility as well as women without a male partner become parents.
It is the treatment of choice when the husband's or partner's semen sample cannot be used either because its quality is too low or due to zero sperm count. Also, in cases where the husband's reproductive cells carry a genetic abnormality likely to be transmitted to offspring.
On the other hand, women who choose to become single mothers by choice (SMC) can undergo intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization (IVF) with donor sperm in order to achieve their dream of having a baby.
Ukrainian regulations on this matter indicate that sperm donors should remain anonymous, and candidates should be young, healthy men. In addition, the fact of donating sperm does not give them any responsibility, obligation, or right over the donor-conceived child.
Donor sperm sample
Prospective sperm donors are accepted into the donor program after having passed a thorough genetic and medical screening. This is carried out in order for their good state of health to be confirmed, as well as the safety of the process as regards the transmission of genetic abnormalities or diseases.
All semen samples provided by the donor will be cryopreserved and stored in a sterile collection container for a 6-month time period. After that time interval, the donor will be screened again. Only if this medical screening shows positive results that confirm the donor is free from diseases or infections, his samples will be allocated to a recipient.
Donor sperm can be used for intrauterine insemination provided that the recipient's fertility status is good enough to get successfully pregnant and no alteration is detected. Should the patient present a fertility problem, IVF with own eggs and donor sperm will be the technique of choice.
A potential sperm donor's semen sample is collected by ejaculating in a sterile container, which has been previously duly tagged. An abstinence period of 3 to 5 days before doing so is advisable.
Anonymity and confidentiality
Though some differences can be found in each fertility center's way of proceeding, in general intended parents choose the most suitable donor for them taking into account his phenotypic characteristics.
Since sperm donors are anonymous men, confidential or personal information about them will not be revealed. The only thing patients can find out about their donor are general data, such as:
- Age
- Weight
- Height
- Eye and hair color
- Educational level
- Blood type
As stated earlier, a sperm donor has no parental right over the unborn child, and he shall not be registered as the legal parent of the child, so he will have no obligations or maintenance responsibilities over the donor-conceived person.
The most common is that recipients choose a donor whose physical features are similar to theirs, or keeping in mind other criteria such as the blood type.
In order for a sperm donation process to be properly carried out, sperm donors have to sign an informed consent in which all terms and conditions of the donation, as well as their rights and obligations, are clarified.
Last but not least, it should be clear that even though the Ukrainian Law states that sperm donation should be based upon altruism, donors can be given a financial compensation in recognition of their cooperation and strict compliance with the conditions laid down by the agreement.
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