No, by donating through a licensed clinic you will not be the legal parent of any child born as a result from treatment with your sperm. You will have no legal or financial responsibilities and you will not be named on the birth certificate.
Current British law allows a maximum of 10 families to be created from one donor. Each family may have 1 or more children.
Only non-identifying information will be given to the recipients of your sperm. This includes a physical description, ethnic group, details of the screening tests and medical history. Other information that can also be given includes your occupation, interests, a good will message and a pen portrait (description of yourself as a person).
Anyone born from your donations will be able to request non-identifying information once they reach age 16.
At aged 18 or over, those born from your donated sperm can choose to find out who you are. They can request your identifying information (full name, date of birth and address). Only the child can request identifying information, not their parents.
Any request for identifying information will be handled sensitively by the HFEA. They would attempt to contact you first to let you know a request for identifying information has been made. Both parties would receive support and counselling if they wish. It is important that you keep your contact details up to date. If the HFEA were unable to contact you the information would still be given out.
You will be able to find out the number of children born, the sex of any children and also their year of birth.
If you are eligible to become a sperm donor you will receive £35 in compensation for each visit to the clinic, up to a maximum of £750. This will be paid on completion of the screening tests (one month after your last donation).
Alternatively if you need IVF treatment yourself, or know a friend or relative who needs IVF, then compensation can be given in the form of an IVF treatment package free of charge at one of the Bourn Hall Clinics instead.
By donating through an HFEA licensed clinic you will not be the legal parent of any resulting child or have any of the rights or financial responsibilities associated with being a legal parent. However donating through private arrangements does not guarantee this and you may in the eyes of the law be regarded as the child’s legal father.
In addition to this, by donating through a clinic you would be screened for certain diseases and medical conditions to help ensure that babies born are healthy and that there are also no risks to the recipients of your sperm.
Your sperm will be frozen and may be stored up to a maximum of 55 years.
Yes! If the results from your semen analysis are good you still may be eligible to become a sperm donor. We run a successful sperm sharing programme at the clinic for those who require fertility treatment. In appreciation of you becoming a sperm sharer you and your partner would receive an IVF treatment package free of charge at one of the Bourn Hall clinics. This would be instead of the £35 per visit compensation. All other information on this website is applicable to sperm sharers except you may not require an initial semen analysis if one has been performed by us recently.
We will first ask you to visit the clinic for a semen analysis and then again for a medical consultation and screening tests. After this you would need to visit the clinic approximately 10-15 times to make your donations (we would aim to store between 80-100 ampoules of sperm in total). You would need to return to the clinic for a final time 1 month after your last donation to repeat the screening tests. Providing all is ok with these tests the sperm could then be used in treatment to help others.
The details about you will be stored at the Bourn Hall clinics. In addition to this, we will also register you as a sperm donor with the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) and the information will be stored in their offices in London. The HFEA license and regulate UK fertility clinics.
The following screening tests will be carried out to assess whether you can donate;
- HIV
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- Cystic fibrosis screen
- VDRL and TPHA (to exclude syphilis)
- Cytomegalovirus – CMV (IgG and IgM assay)
- Cytogenetic analysis to examine the chromosomes of the cells
- Blood group
- Chlamydia (urine test)
- Gonorrhoea (urine test)
There may be additional tests that need to be carried out depending on your ethnicity or country of birth.
No! Those who need the help from donor sperm are all different, different heights, different ethnicities, different characteristics. That’s why it’s important that our donors are too!
Absolutely. Sperm donors can be single or have a partner. If you are in a relationship, it's really important you discuss becoming a sperm donor with your partner as they may have questions as well. You would be welcome to attend the consultations and counselling together if you wish.
If you have a friend or family member who needs IVF treatment, Bourn Hall offers the 'Gift of Giving' as an option to donors.
If you become a donor, instead of receiving the £35 per visit compensation you can instead nominate a friend or family member to receive an IVF treatment package free of charge at one of our Bourn Hall Clinics. They would be eligible to receive this once you have completed your donations and exit screenings. You would not be donating your sperm to your nominee, your donations will be used by anonymous patients.
All other information on this website is applicable for gifting although meeting with a counsellor will be mandatory in these circumstances.