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Choice of donor
Donor sperm
Donor sperm required for fertility treatment is provided
by the London Sperm Bank (LSB), the biggest and most
successful donor bank in the UK. This is important
because, before starting any treatment, patients must be
matched with their chosen sperm donor. With the UK’s
widest choice of sperm donor, you can be confident that
you have the best chance of using a donor who matches
your preferences.
All LSB donors are carefully selected
according to the rules laid out by the British
Andrology Society, the British Fertility Society
and the HFEA. The laboratory processes
involved in the storage of the sperm
samples also comply with the EU Tissue
and Cell Directives.
All donors must comply with the following
basic criteria:
• Have high sperm quality, including count,
motility and morphology
• Be aged between 18 and 41 years
• Be in good general health
• Have no personal or family history of
genetic disease
• Have no current sexually transmitted
infection
• Be fully informed of the HFE Act with
regards to anonymity
• Be resident in the UK for at least
12 months and be able to provide a copy
of their passport
• Agree for their GP to be contacted
• Be fully aware of the medical history of
their parents, grandparents, siblings and
any other close family members.
All donors are screened for the following:
a) Before starting and during the programme,
and on their final donation visit:
• Gonorrhoea
• Trichomonas
• Chlamydia (in urine)
• Semen bacterial culture
• HIV I and II, Hepatitis B, Hep B Core
and Hep C
• CMV IgG and IgM
• Syphilis
• HTLV 1 and 2
b) Following clear screening for the
tests above:
• Blood group and Rhesus factor
• Chromosome karyotype
• Cystic fibrosis screen
c) Donors of particular racial groups
will also be tested for:
• Sickle cell anaemia
• Thalassaemia
• Tay Sachs
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Confidentiality
All donors must complete a detailed physical
examination with a fertility specialist, attend
an implications counselling session and
complete an interview with the LSB team.
Donors are also required to complete a
full set of consent forms, including HFEA
ID Registration, Consent to Donation and
Consent to Disclosure.
Following a successful treatment cycle,
some patients decide to reserve donor
sperm samples for future treatment so that
a sibling is genetically related to your child.
Sibling sperm can also be used by a same
sex partner.
Some donors may decide to write a short
paragraph about themselves which is made
available to patients after the birth of a child.
This is known as a ‘pen sketch’ and is intended
to help when parents decide to talk to their
children about their sperm donor.
The process is very straightforward. After
your pregnancy has been confirmed with
a heartbeat seen on an ultrasound scan,
you should contact the donor bank
(sibling@lsbdonors.com) to request to
reserve some samples for future use. In the
event that no sibling sperm samples are
available, the LSB will contact the donor
to request that he returns for further
donation, which will then be set aside
for you. However, you should be aware
that some donors decide not to return
to donate further samples.
As explained on page 19, donor sperm
is most commonly used for intrauterine
insemination (IUI). IUI with donor sperm is
also the preferred fertility treatment method
for lesbian and single women, who may also
be treated as egg-sharing IVF patients using
donor sperm for fertilisation.
If you decide to have your future treatment
with sibling sperm at an alternative clinic, we
can arrange for the samples to be moved.
This is relatively straightforward if moved to
an HFEA-licensed clinic in the UK, but may be
more complicated if you wish to transfer the
samples overseas.
All samples are quarantined for six months
post donation and not released for use until
all tests listed in a), b) and c) are complete
and satisfactory.
As with donor eggs and embryos, the HFEA
keeps a confidential register of information
about donors, patients and treatments.
Today, a donor-conceived person has the
right to access:
• Non-identifying information about the donor
and any donor-conceived genetic siblings,
from the age of 16
• Identifying information about the donor
(where applicable), from the age of 18
Sperm donor requests
Donors of sperm, eggs and embryos can
request information at any time about any
children born as a result of their donation.
They can receive information about the
number of children born as a result of their
donation, their sex and the years of birth.
Donors seeking information about children
born as a result or their donation may find
counselling or similar support services helpful
in considering the implications of receiving
such information.
• Identifying information about donor-
conceived genetic siblings, with mutual
consent, from the age of 18
Donor sperm from other sources
In the unlikely event that we are unable
to meet your requirements from donors
recruited at the LSB, there are a number of
other options available to you. These include
purchasing sperm from another UK centre
and importing sperm from overseas. Both
can be done, provided that procedures are
in accordance with HFEA requirements.
Patients considering sperm from overseas
clinics should ensure that the donor is UK
and HFEA compliant. For example, the donor
should have completed all screening tests and
shipping should meet the requirements of
the HFEA.
Known donor sperm
We have an extensive and very successful
‘known donation programme’. Known donors
can be a friend or non-blood relation brought
to the clinic by a patient for her own use.
As with the HFEA, we do not recommend
the use of donors recruited from websites or
through recruitment agents unless they are
prepared to fully disclose their details to the
patient and clinic.
Your known donor is required to undergo
the same screening as an anonymous donor
(including all tests, quarantine and consents).
In addition he should also agree to all
anonymity requirements and be fully aware
of the legal implications of his status as a
‘known donor’. This is particularly important
if the patient is a single woman. Patients are
strongly advised to seek legal advice before
agreeing to any contact or co-parenting
arrangements with a known donor if single
or a lesbian couple (including those who are
lesbian civil partners).
However, known donors are not subject to
the same requirements for sperm quality
or age, so known donors with poor quality
sperm will not be excluded from the
programme – although it would be suggested
that ICSI might be more successful than IUI.
Known donors over the age of 41 years will
be considered, but only following a medical
examination with one of our consultants.
The reception area
at LWC London
Checklist for those using
donor sperm
• Book your initial consultation at the
LWC or Bridge Centre
• Agree your treatment plan with
your specialist
• Visit the London Sperm Bank website
• Choose and confirm the
characteristics of your donor
• If sourcing donor sperm from
an outside clinic, ensure that the
donor complies with all UK and
HFEA requirements
• Seek legal advice before making
any decisions about using a known
sperm donor.
• Avoid the use of sperm donors
recruited from websites or
recruitment agents unless full
donor details can be made available
to you and the clinic
• Once your pregnancy is confirmed,
consider reserving additional donor
sperm for genetically related siblings
before treatment takes place