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Anonymity law change blamed for chronic sperm donor shortage

Thousands of couples seeking fertility treatment could remain childless because of a chronic shortage of sperm donors, it emerged today.

The crisis follows a change in the law last year which abolished the right of sperm donors to remain anonymous.
Since then, semen stocks have rapidly diminished and clinics have had to close their doors and turn couples away.

Many infertile couples are seeking help abroad while others are waiting up to five years for a suitable sperm match.

Infertility support groups yesterday warned that Britain was on brink of a "national crisis".

And they called on the Government for a campaign to recruit more sperm donors to replenish the depleted stocks.

Clare Brown, chief executive of Infertility Network UK, said the change in law had made a "huge difference" to the number of men volunteering.

She said yesterday: "Clinics across the country are having to close because there is a shortage of donor sperm - and that constitutes a crisis.

"Before the anonymity law was introduced we didn't have a shortage of sperm donors - now we have.

"This is a very real worry and something has to be done to help the thousands of couples out there who face a childless future without donated sperm."

Sperm donors lost their right to anonymity last April. Any 'donor' children born since then have the right to contact their biological father at 18.

The new rules also mean that sperm donors are no longer paid for their services. Instead they only receive payment to cover expenses.

The latest figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) show that as few as 10 new donors are being recruited in Britain each month.

A few years ago the figure was nearer 30.

There is now only one active sperm donor for the whole of Scotland. Oxfordshire clinics have just one man willing to be provide sperm.

In total, experts believe there could be as few as 20 active donors being shared by the 93 fertility clinics in the UK.

A clinic in Aberdeen recently closed, with some 20 patients being informed by post that their fertility treatment could no longer be continued.

Other clinics are importing in frozen semen from countries such as America, Denmark and Spain.

However some sperm banks are so low in stock, couples are facing waits of up to five years for treatment.

This has forced many to seek fertility treatment abroad. Others are paying up to £1,000 online for insemination.

Experts fear the shortage has also led to a rise in women seeking donors from unregulated internet sites which do not screen for diseases such as HIV.

Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris, a former GP and member of the Commons Science and Technology Committee yesterday urged the Government to rethink the change to the law.

He said: "The decision to abandon donor anonymity was stupid and misguided.

"The Government should reopen this issue.

"It is urgent because people are waiting.

"They will either go abroad, to unregulated sperm producers or go childless."

The HFEA which regulates British fertility clinics, said yesterday they believe any lack of donors is more likely to be down to a shift in the demographic of donors.

Spokeswoman Vishnee Sauntoo said: "It's no longer medical students in their early 20s that donate, it's now people who are in their late 30s and early 40s who have completed their families and want to help other people.

"Clinics need to tap into this. They need to take responsibility in terms of recruiting and look at the best ways to do that, most clinics are now sharing information on the best way to recruit."

She added: "We are seeing some places, like clinics in Manchester, which are reporting good numbers of donors coming forward.

The Department for Health yesterday defended the new rules and said it was "right" for donor-conceived children to know their biological history.

A spokesman said: "It is right that donor-conceived children should be able to access information about their genetic make-up should they want it.

"That is why we changed the law on donor anonymity, supported organisations such as Barnardos and the Children's Society.

"Where UK clinics have focused on modernising their services to attract donors - for example realistic clinic opening times - they are recruiting identifiable donors.

"We have funded a national campaign to raise awareness of the importance of donation and we also fund the National Gamete Donation Trust to support fertility clinics to recruit donors."

I don't agree with the idea of sperm banks and frankly, I am happy to see they are grinding to a halt.

BTW, do anonymous sperm donors have to pay child support? Or is there just talk about that at the moment? Because that would certainly put many men off.