Sperm bank

Donors are people from all walks of life and ethnicities – there is no such thing as a ‘standard donor’. What they all have in common is their desire to help people and make a real difference in someone’s life.

Some men are infertile. This might be because of:

• Injuries and accidents
• Genetic conditions
• Cancer treatments
• Inherited disorders in the family
• Poor sperm production

To become a donor you need to be aged between 18-40, generally fit and healthy. You may not be able to donate if you have had a serious medical problem, disability, infection with genital warts/genital herpes or family history of a hereditary (inherited) disease.

You will need to be willing to attend the clinic for initial tests and then regularly to make donations and finally attending the last screening appointment six months after your last donation.

We start with a brief telephone questionnaire, asking a few individual questions and also offer you a screening appointment.

At the first appointment we will explain the whole donation process, ask you to complete a questionnaire and also provide a semen sample for analysis/test freeze. We will also ask for your consent to contact your GP to check your medical history.

The next appointment will be with our counsellor, who will be able to discuss the implications or any private and confidential questions you may have about the process. We will also arrange for blood and urine samples, to screen for various diseases. You will also be asked to undergo a physical examination.

When the screening checks are complete regular appointments can be made for you to make donations. This normally involves making around 10-15 visits.

In a legal and social sense, the people who receive your donation will be the parents of any child that is born. But the child will inherit your genes and therefore they will be genetically related to you.

As the law now stands, once any children born from your donations reach 18 years of age they will be able to find out who you are, and may want to get in touch. You have no legal obligations to any child created from your donation. The person who received your donation (and their partner) will be the child’s legal parents. You cannot be named on the birth certificate and have no rights over how the child is brought up, nor will you have any responsibility to contribute financially.

As a donor you would have a statutory right to request information on the number, sex and year of birth of children born as a result of your donation. This information may be obtained from the clinic or from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

In addition, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is expected to contact and forewarn you if ever a donor-conceived person requests identifying information about you.

You will be paid a total of £35.00 for every sperm donation you make. This is paid at £20.00 cash per donation visit (after initial screening has been completed) with the remaining £15.00 from each visit paid in a lump sum at the final screening appointment.

For enquiries relating to donor sperm or becoming a sperm donor please mail bwc.sperm.bank@nhs.net or call 0121 335 8272.