About 150 commercial sperm banks exist in the United States; these banks are often clustered around universities where many intelligent and virile young men live. The qualities present in college students are in high demand among infertile couples trying to have a baby. Thus, approximately 50 to 90 percent of all sperm donors are college students! The remaining 10 to 50 percent of donors come from all walks of life and have a variety of interests, values, and skills.
Only 5 percent of all male applicants who apply to be a sperm donor meet the criteria to donate sperm. The following conditions immediately disqualify a potential donor from donating sperm:
Men who have a history of certain diseases in the family (i.e. cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, etc.) cannot donate sperm. Homosexual men and men who have had sex with other men cannot donate
sperm. Intravenous drug users are automatically disqualified.
Men who have visited areas where considerable numbers of AIDS cases have been reported and have had sex with either women or men living there are prohibited from donating. Applicants go through a rigorous screening process before they are cleared to donate sperm. Donor screening consists of questionnaires, blood screening, specimen screening, genetic analysis and a physical evaluation. This process includes:
- Comprehensive interviews about sexual behavior, family background and reasons for participating in the sperm donation program.
- An extensive family history (spanning in some cases, three generations), is taken and evaluated.
- The semen is analyzed for sperm cell count, forward sperm cell motility, and normal sperm morphology.
- The candidate is tested for infectious diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C (and others).
- ABO-Rh blood typing.
Genetic testing for cystic fibrosis.
This screening process takes from 8 weeks to 6 months depending on the sperm bank to which the man is applying. If the man is one of the lucky 5 percent of applicants who are accepted to donate, he will be paid from $40 to $100 for each semen sample. A donator can sire a maximum of 10 children and potentially make up to $6,000 in a year. Sperm donation is usually motivated by money rather than altruism.
The donation process is simple. The man walks into a private room which is usually stocked with pornography and masturbates into a sterile container. The semen sample is collected from the container and is mixed with a cryopreservative solution, divided in aliquots, sealed in vials and frozen with liquid nitrogen. The frozen semen is stored at -321 degrees F. When needed, the semen sample is thawed and used in artificial insemination.
What are the Ethical Considerations for Sperm Donation?
When considering the ethics of sperm donation, several factors must be considered:
- The rights of the sperm donor.
- The rights of the clients (who are purchasing the sperm).
- The criteria by which sperm are collected (i.e. choosing a donor who has certain traits).
- The amount of sperm that a single man can donate.
The following explain the rights of the various parties involved in sperm donation and examine some of the controversial issues in the field. These rights were developed through the principles of medical ethics and informed consent and are not mandated technically by law. However, sperm banks are approved by state health departments and national organizations; if certain criteria are not met, the banks are not accredited.
Sperm Donor Rights:
The identity of the donor shall remain anonymous. The clients have no right to learn the identity of the donor or solicit donor identifying information from any other source. The donor shall also be free from any responsibility to the biological offspring produced by his sperm.
Client Rights:
The clients have the right to be informed of the limitations and potential complications involved with sperm donation. Sperm donation is not always successful and multiple treatments might have to be performed. Also, the sperm bank cannot completely guarantee that the sperm they provide is disease free or free of genetic abnormalities. Although genetic testing and disease screening techniques are advanced and sensitive, they are not foolproof. The client also must understand that she/he is fully responsible for the offspring conceived by use of the specimens.
Sperm donor and client rights are usually established via an informed consent form that is signed by the client and verified by the client's doctor. This form ensures that the client understands his/her rights and the rights of the sperm donor. The principle of informed consent is based on the principles of scientific and medical ethics.
The Ethics of Choosing Sperm:
Sperm banks differ in their selection of sperm donors. All are highly selective, but some are more selective than others. For example, California Cryobank only accepts donors who attend or have graduated from a "major four-year university." Donors must also be tall, trim, heterosexual, and between 19 and 34 years old. One sperm bank, the Repository of Germinal Choice at one time only accepted sperm from Nobel Prize winners. Other sperm banks like CryoGam Colorado, Inc. are selective, but not excessively so. They carry a more "normal" gene pool and their philosophy reflects a distaste for elitism. The disparity between ultra selective sperm banks and ones that cater to a more "normal" population raise ethical questions. Is only providing the most elite sperm a form of eugenics? As of yet, these ethical issues have not been resolved. Sperm banks can carry any type of sperm they wish as long as they adhere to proper laboratory standards and respect informed consent.
How Much Sperm Can Be Donated?:
If a donor sires too many kids, the risk of producing children who will eventually copulate increases. Although it sounds unbelievable, half brothers and sisters (from the same donor father) have actually married not knowing they were related. Thus, sperm banks place a limitation on the number of children a donor can produce. A donor can produce a maximum of ten children with his sperm. This limit prevents the problem mentioned above and is adhered to by all sperm banks.