Sperm donation offers couples a way to have a baby if the male partner isn’t producing enough healthy sperm to conceive. It’s also an option if your partner has a high risk of passing on an inherited disease, if you are a single woman or you are in a lesbian relationship.

How does sperm donation work?

Donor sperm can be used to fertilise an egg (or eggs) inside a woman’s body. This is known as donor insemination (DI). Treatment will take place around the time you ovulate. Your doctors may suggest you take a fertility drug to increase the number of eggs you produce.
Donor sperm can also be used to fertilise eggs in a laboratory for IVF.

Where does the sperm come from?

If you use sperm from a registered donor, you will have the peace of mind of knowing that they have been screened for infections and inherited diseases. They will also have been carefully assessed for their suitability and their physical resemblance to you and your partner.
Sperms donors are not paid for making a donation.

What is the legal situation?

If you use a registered donor, your baby will legally be your child (and your partner’s if you have one). But if you make a private arrangement with a donor, the donor will be considered the baby’s legal parent.

Children conceived using a registered sperm donor have the legal right to learn the donor’s identity when they turn 18. Sperm from a single registered donor can be used to conceive a maximum of 10 babies.

Is sperm donation right for us?

Using a sperm donor needs careful consideration. There are lots of issues to think through. How will you feel if your child chooses to look up their biological father when they are 18, for example? What will you tell your child about their conception? If you have a male partner, how will you both feel knowing that your baby is not genetically his?

If you are considering using donor sperm, you will be given the opportunity to talk all these issues through with a counsellor.