Sperm Donors Are Still Needed
Since 2004 , the low rate of sperm donation has become worrying for infertile couples and their doctors says Dr Angela Cooney .
Guest Column
One in 20 men has sperm production abnormalities and roughly half of all subfertility can be attributed to a male factor . IVF can be successful , especially using Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection ( ICSI ), even where there are extremely low sperm counts or if sperm can be obtained through testicular biopsy .
But what about when there ’ s no sperm at all ?
Klinefelter ' s Syndrome is the most common chromosomal anomaly ( an incidence of one in 500 men ) and most of these will have complete azoospermia . Others may find themselves without sperm post-cancer treatment where chemotherapy or testicular removal has been necessary .
And then there are situations where , not only are there no sperm , but no man either . Lesbian couples have been using informally donated sperm from friends or relatives for decades . But some same-sex female couples may not have an appropriate informal donor available . Or they may prefer the ethical and legal simplicity of a formal donor arrangement where there is no fear of an informal donor demanding parental rights . Some single women find themselves in the difficult position of wanting a pregnancy without being in a relationship and knowing that every passing month brings them closer to childlessness .
There will always be a need for sperm donors – but where are they ? It wasn ’ t all that long ago that hundreds of male university students earned a bit of beer money by donating sperm . But the supply of donors has dried up ( pun intended ) to the point that there are now 18 month waitinglists for donor sperm in most of WA ' s reproductive technology services .
The likely cause of this is the awareness of the rights of a donor-conceived child to access information regarding their genetic origin . Back in the early days of sperm banking and donation , nobody much cared about the offspring and certainly none of the spotty baby doctors ever imagined they would meet the end-result of five minutes wrestling with a jar and a porno magazine .
But all that changed in 2004 . A child born in WA after that date as the result of gamete donation on reaching the age of 16 and after discussion with an accredited counsellor can gain access to identifying information about the donor . Consequently , any person wishing to donate gametes now needs to sign a consent form stating that they are prepared for a donor-conceived child to contact them in the future .
The most common source of donor sperm is men who have had a child or children with reproductive technology assistance , and still have sperm in storage they no longer need . But there are legal limits to their altruism because a single donor in WA can only be used for the creation of up to five pregnancies . Increasingly , sperm is being imported from overseas though the same requirements of consent regarding identifying information must still be met .
Does the general public believe that IVF can do everything now , and that there ’ s no more need for sperm donation ? Or is this part of a more sweeping social inertia that also gives Australia one of the lowest organ donation rates in the developed world ? �
ED : Dr Cooney is a member of the Reproductive Technology Council .
Why I Donated My Sperm
A young professional , who is married with one child , agreed to write about why he decided to become a sperm donor .
The only person I ’ ve talked to about donating my sperm has been my wife and she ’ s very supportive . My parents are conservative and highly religious so I probably won ’ t discuss it with them but I ’ d have no problems telling my friends and siblings .
One of the main reasons I decided to become a sperm donor was because some friends of mine were having trouble conceiving and , more specifically , they had real difficulties finding suitable donor sperm . I saw this as a very simple way to help people who were having difficulties starting a family .”
What surprised me was how complicated the process is in Australia . There ’ s obviously a need for proper counselling and donors need to be made aware of the potential consequences , but the six month cooling-off period is a little strange . You jump through all the hoops , including counselling , and then you have to wait six months before you ’ re allowed to donate . No wonder there ’ s a shortage of donors !
And after all that , you can donate sperm and then withdraw consent and have it destroyed .
I ’ m perfectly happy with the current laws allowing the release of information identifying donors . And I ’ m comfortable meeting any resulting children – potentially there could be five of them – and answer any questions they may have . It ’ s been made very clear that I ’ ll have no legal obligation to them and I would see them as no different from any other member of the public , apart from a genetic similarity .
I ’ m fascinated by genetics . And I can really understand a person being curious about a biological parent .
As to whether I will always wonder if there is another ‘ me ’ out there , the fertility clinic is required to tell you how many children result from a donation . And I will ask at some point .
The actual mechanics of the procedure haven ’ t changed much over the years . It used to be a glass jar and now it ’ s plastic . I imagine the magazine selection might be a little better than previous years . �
www . donatedontwaste . com . au Reproductive Technology Council www . rtc . org . au medicalforum 27