The Science of Making Babies

Sperm Donation

Although most women prefer to use their own partner’s sperm to conceive a baby, that’s not always possible. You may be a single woman who desires pregnancy but lacks a male partner. Or you may have a male partner who has abnormal sperm. The emergence of the ICSI procedure has enabled many men, who previously were unable to do so, to father a child. Even so, ICSI does not work for all cases of male infertility. It may be that your male partner has an extremely low sperm count or exceptionally poor sperm quality, or he may carry a genetic disorder. In any of these situations, donor sperm may be the answer to your dilemma.

• Early Pregnancy Loss/Miscarriage
• Early Pregnancy Loss-Introduction
• Diagnosis and treatment of miscarriage
• Possible causes of recurrent miscarriage
• Ectopic Pregnancy
• Molar Pregnancy

SELECTING YOUR SPERM DONOR

Selecting your sperm donor is a pretty big step and can be very exciting, too. Most sperm banks offer a catalog of all their sperm donors. You can look through the listings and note the physical and intellectual characteristics of each potential donor.

You may want to select someone who is very similar to you or your own male partner. Or you may want to focus on certain traits and talents that you hope your baby may inherit. Your doctor and fertility clinic will offer some guidelines about selecting the best sperm donor for you. In addition, here are some things for you to consider when selecting your sperm donor:

• How old is the donor?
Sperm donors should be of legal age and ideally less than 40 years old. Although rare, some studies indicate that birth defects and chromosomal abnormalities may increase as a man ages. One such study was conducted at France’s Hospital Caremeau in 2004 and published in Progres en Urologie. The researchers concluded that there is an age-related deterioration of male fertility and also an increased genetic risk for the offspring for chromosomal mutations and abnormalities.

• Is the donor available for a second child?
This may or may not be important to you. If you are planning to have more than one child using donor sperm, you may want to consider using the same sperm donor with each child so the children are all biologically related.

Once you’ve narrowed it down, is there additional information about your top picks?
Sperm banks often provide baby and adult pictures of the donors. Some clinics even offer video- or audiotapes from the donors. There may also be a personal statement or questionnaire from the donor that highlights his education, hobbies, interests, and personal habits.

• Once your child reaches legal age, is this donor open to contact from the child that was conceived using his sperm?
Of course, this is a very personal decision and varies from woman to woman. You certainly don’t have to decide if and how you will tell your child about his or her heritage at this point. However, it is helpful to find out right now whether contact with the biological father is even an option at some time in the distant future.

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