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Treatment with donor sperm
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Sperm banks are different and there may be differences in what they define as identity and whether there will be contact with the donor later in the child's life.
Who does the donor sperm come from?
Sperm banks offer a choice of different donor types/donor sperm and associated different options for donor information. It is the sperm bank that receives, checks and distributes the sperm portions to the clinics.
Donors are typically Caucasian/European looking men with an average age of about 25 years.
To be accepted as a sperm donor, donors must undergo several medical tests, be healthy and have no family history of disease.
Possibilities of fertility treatment with donor sperm
You can buy IUI (purified) and ICI (non-purified) sperm. However, please note that if you purchase ICI sperm, there is a fee for sperm purification here at the clinic.
You can purchase your own donor sperm and choose from several characteristics. Here is a link to a sperm bank we work with:
How to choose your sperm at European Sperm Bank
To be able to select a donor, go to the European Sperm Bank website. We have worked closely with European Sperm Bank for many years, and they ensure a smooth process when you need to be treated with donor sperm.
To start your search for a donor, click on the link below and create a profile by clicking the "Create Free User" button. Once you have created your user, you have full access to European Sperm Bank's selection of sperm donors.
Donor sperm may be required for fertility treatment. For many, this may be the only option for achieving pregnancy. This is the case, for example, if
in the male, there are no sperm cells in either the ejaculate or the testes.
the man has a hereditary disease.
you are a single woman or a lesbian couple who want fertility treatment.
Which donor should I/we choose?
Sperm banks have changed their donor names significantly in recent years. We have chosen to divide the donor types into ID-release and No ID-release. For both, they may have limited information available or extended profiles. You can read more about this on the sperm banks' websites.
ID-release donor - covers open donor, contactable donor depending on sperm bank
No ID-release donor - covers anonymous, non-contactable donor depending on sperm bank
Know your options and make the right choices for you - and more importantly, your future child. See these 4 crucial questions from midwife Julia Buus Nicholson about choosing a donor and having a donor baby.
Four important questions about choosing a donor and having a donor baby
1. Do you want ID-release or No ID-release donor?
It is entirely up to you. No one option is objectively better than the other, even if there is evidence that an increasing number - especially in Denmark - prefer an ID-release donor. Our advice is that what feels right for you and for your partner will, in the vast majority of cases, also be best for the baby. The important thing is therefore to understand the options before making a decision.
When we ask single women and lesbian couples about their choices, we see that most choose an ID-release donor - especially in Denmark, where there is great openness about different family forms. It is often about women not wanting to restrict the child. Some single women might argue, "If I can't give my child a father, I can give it an ID-release donor”. We're also seeing more heterosexual couples choosing open donor than we've seen in the past due to a greater openness in general in society.
Others are choosing a No ID-release donor because they want to take responsibility for the child (on the child's behalf) and thus not 'just' pass on/leave it up to the child to make the choice to get more knowledge later in life.
In recent years, there is also another essential issue that has an impact on the choice of donor: what does it mean to choose an ID-release donor?
An ID-release/open donor is a broad concept. The law does not say that the child has the right to meet his or her donor when they turn 18, but that they have the right to know the identity of the donor. This raises a new question: What is identity? Is it a name, an address or just information about him?
In Denmark, we have only had ID-release/open sperm donors since 2007 - that is, the oldest donor children are not yet 18 years old. Therefore, we do not know how the sperm banks will handle the issue. For some, it is therefore more attractive to choose a donor without ID-release - for the sole reason that the story is much simpler to give your child. The answer is not "we'll see what information is available when you turn 18". If a donor is chosen without ID-release, the entire family will know all available information from day one.
In some cultures, having a donor child is not considered ‘good’. That is why we see women and couples choosing No ID-release donors because their starting point is that they do not want to tell either the child or the outside world how the child came to be.
2. How should you deal with a possible hereditary disease in a donor?
We all have genetic defects. This also applies to donors. Although he will be screened and tested for many diseases, we cannot make guarantees. But in general, the child is better off than most of the children who are born naturally because a sperm donor is screened and tested. In many cases, the donor has typically provided donor sperm to other families in the past, and we are informed whether a reported birth defect or disease in a child can be attributed to the donor.
3. Do you dream of more than one child?
We often get this question: "How much donor sperm should I buy?" This is really difficult to advise on because we can't know. However, an important question to consider early on in the process is the question of full siblings: 'If all goes well, will you have more than one child? If so, is it important to you/you that it is the same donor?" This will of course determine how much you should buy/reserve from at this stage.
4. How will you tell your child that he/she is a donor child?
What do you actually intend to tell the child? When will you tell them? How will you tell them? We recommend that when you decide to have a donor child, you already start thinking about how you will communicate the story to the child.
We see that some take it as it comes, some plan something they want to say, while others choose to write a diary from the first thought until they stand with a child in their arms. It then later becomes a gift to the child.
The advantage for lesbians and single women is clearly that the child will tell them themselves when they are ready for the answer. A two-year-old might say: "Where's my daddy?" When the child is five, he might ask again. We also meet some who tell it right from the children's infancy.
And don't forget, a donor child is very much a wanted child, wished for long before it came into being. They were a choice. They are wanted by the mother, and wanted by a fellow mother or father, and wanted by the donor. It is a great gift - also to be told later in life!
Three tips for those wanting to use donor sperm
Midwife Julia Buus Nicholson gives her 3 best tips for those who want to use donor sperm
1. Listen to your gut
It should feel good when you make a decision about the donor. There is no right or wrong answer - if it feels right for you, then it probably is.
2. Openness and honesty are key
The most important thing is that you are honest with your child and that you tell the truth. Tell the truth from a very young age, don’t wait until they’re 15. All research shows that it is much easier for the child to deal with the truth from an earlier age. For single and lesbian women this goes without saying, but for heterosexual couples it is something that has to be actively dealt with.
It's one thing to be honest with your child, it's another thing to be honest with those around you. What does a single woman say, for example, when she lives in a small settlement in northern Norway with her two-year-old son? Does she change her story depending on how she thinks she is best received: "It was a man I met and it didn't work out?" Or does she say: "I went to Denmark to get donor sperm?"
If she tells the truth to her child and the outside world and shows that she is at peace with her decision, then the child will also have an experience of being okay and will know that there is nothing wrong with being a donor child.
3. Think of the child
Always put the child before your own needs. Think about how you think the child will react when they grow up.
Do you have a known sperm donor?
If you wish to use your own or a dedicated donor (who is not a partner), called a known donor, for treatment, the known donor must be screened through a questionnaire, interview, physical examination and blood and urine tests for selected infectious diseases.
It is also important to note that here at the clinic we require the known donor's regular partner, if any, to sign that she/he is aware that the known donor's sperm is being used for fertility treatment.
Risks of donor sperm
In an individual counselling session, the doctor explains the risks of donor sperm. For the woman, the risks of both insemination and IVF and ICSI are basically the same as those of fertilising her eggs with her partner's sperm. Any risk of infection is largely prevented by the above measures.
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