Donor Sperm

Who Uses Donor Sperm?

There are many circumstances in which donor sperm is the best option.  For people in a same sex relationship, or a woman choosing to sole parent, who want a child that is biologically related to them, donor sperm combined with assisted reproductive treatments like IUI or IVF is a great option.

In other cases, due to medical conditions donor sperm is their best option for having a healthy baby.  This could include:

• heterosexual couples who have experienced repeated IVF failure
• heterosexual couples where the male partner is azoospermic (no sperm in ejaculate) due to failure of production.
• heterosexual couples who have a high likelihood of passing on a genetic condition

Are there benefits to using donor sperm?

There are definite advantages of donor sperm. These include

• The donor has been screened for infectious diseases and only able to be used after a quarantine period.
• The rights and responsibilities of all parties are clear and defined. The child has the right at age 18 to find the identity of the donor.
• In Australia, there are rules for donors qualifying the number of families they are allowed to donate to.
• The use of donor sperm can be used with any assisted reproductive technology. 

What is the process for using donor sperm?

After discussion with Dr Flynn, the first step is a session with a psychologist. This time takes women and couples through many of the scenarios that may occur in later life to ensure they have a thorough understanding of the situation.  This is also the time to communicate all parties’ rights and responsibilities.

Selecting Donor Sperm

The next step is to meet our donor co-ordinator to discuss the process of selecting sperm. The questions of cost are worked through and the choice between Australian donors or international donors.

All Queensland Fertility Group donors are selected very carefully. They must be fit and healthy, have no specific infectious diseases, or any identified history of hereditary diseases. Of course, they must also be fertile, so every specimen of semen is checked before and after freezing to make sure it is an acceptable standard. All donor semen is frozen in liquid nitrogen and is thawed just before use in fertility treatment.

You will be able to search for a donor using criteria including nationality, eye colour, hair colour and height. You can view each donor’s individual profile, which includes information about their occupation, weight, blood type, and availability of donor sperm. In some instances you can also view baby photos of the donor, to give you a better idea of their physical characteristics as a child.

Using donor sperm

After a blood test to determine when the woman is ovulating the sperm is thawed and inserted in the uterus using a small catheter.  This relatively non-invasive procedure is called intrauterine insemination (IUI). 

Partners in a same-sex relationship often choose to store semen from the same donor for use at a later date for additional children.

What are the success rates using donor sperm?

The success rate using donor sperm is the same success rate as any other woman of the same age (approximately 15%).

The use of donor sperm is an effective solution to fulfilling a dream of a child.