Telling your child they are donor conceived

If you are thinking of creating your family through donated gametes - sperm, egg or embryo - or you already have children, you may have wondered how best to explain their biological origins to them as they are growing up. Donor Conception Network may be able to help you. DCN is a national charity which was started over 20 years ago by five families who had children through sperm donation and wanted to support each other and encourage others to be open with their children. Now there are 1700 member families and individuals, including lesbian and single parent families, heterosexual families, donor-conceived adults and those who are still thinking about whether donor conception is right for them. Some are pursuing treatment in the UK, others abroad; and their donors may be known, id release or anonymous. The DCN website (www.dcnetwork.org) includes amongst other things personal stories and a bookshop selling DCN publications about how to talk to your children about donor conception, and books for your children themselves. DCN also runs workshops open to all, both for those preparing to become parents, and for those who already have children.It is a chance to explore all the issues in a safe and confidential setting; the facilitators are skilled in running groups, and equally importantly are all parents of donor-conceived children. There are separate groups for heterosexual couples, and for lesbian couples and single women, as people often say they welcome the opportunity to talk things over with others in similar situations. One recent participant on the Preparation for Parenthood workshop stated: 'Thoughtfully put together with a good balance of factual, practical content whilst maintaining focus on the emotional and psychological impact of donor conception.' DCN believes that the more open parents are about donor conception the better it is for the health of individuals and families. If you would like to find out more, look on the website, or phone 020 7278 2608, or email enquiries@dcnetwork.org if you would like to know more or discuss something in confidence. Article: 6th August 2014 www.dcnetwork.org/

Telling your child about your donation - We welcome your feedback

If you are a sperm or egg donor, or considering becoming a donor, you may be thinking about how to share your decision with your own children or any you might have in the future. This leaflet gives you some ideas on when and how you might share your story… The 'National Donation Strategy Group' have created a draft leaflet and would welcome feedback from Pride Angel members. Deciding to become a donor shows that you are someone who is generous and altruistic. Your donation is a wonderful gift, enabling others to have the potential to become parents. If you donated in a UK clinic after the removal of anonymity in 2005, you may have considered the importance of any children born from your donation being able to access your identifying information should they wish, when they become adults. If you donated before anonymity was removed you may have thought about becoming an identifiable donor by re-registering. Contact the HFEA for more information about this. The leaflet covers information and questions about: Why tell your child about your donations? When to tell your child? How to tell your child? Potential questions your child might ask you? The leaflet also contains links for you to find out further information Read the full draft leaflet here Article: 28th May 2014 www.prideangel.com

Deciding upon Donor Conception: The Future of the Child

The decision to have a child is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Having a child is a strong desire for most individuals, although some are unfortunately unable to do so on their own. If that is the case for you, then donor conception might be a concept that you have thought about or that you are highly considering. If so, you might be wondering how donor conception could affect your child later in life. This article will discuss some of the effects that donor conception might have on a child, as well as tips on how to prepare yourself for explaining donor conception to your child. What is donor conception? Donor conception is the use of donated sperm, embryos, or eggs in order to conceive a child. Common forms of donor conception include surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, and sperm donation. A surrogate mother is often used when a female cannot carry to term her own child, and she wants to have a child with her own genetics. In vitro fertilization occurs when the male’s sperm is not able to conceive a child; therefore the female is injected with the sperm of a donor. And lastly, sperm donation is also common among lesbian couples and single women who do not have a partner and would like to have a child. How will it affect my child? If you are planning to use donor conception, there are a few questions you will need to ask yourself beforehand, such as the following: Who will tell my child that they are a “donor” child? Will I share that information with family and friends or simply keep it private? How can I prepare myself to explain the situation to my child properly? Will I be open from the start with my child? There are many questions, but answering these few beforehand will prepare you for the process, as well as help you to make the decision in a more educated way. Another aspect to consider when considering donor conception is whether or not your child will want to know about his/her donor. If the child does want to know about the donor, it is important that you understand the process of recovering that information. When your child is 18, they will have access to the donor registry with information about their donor, as well as information about any donor siblings. This information is stored by HFEA, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. The information is separated into two categories: non identifying information and identifying information. Non identifying information will include the physical appearance, number of children, and ethnic group of that donor while the identifying information will include the last known address, name, and date of birth of the donor. It is important that you are aware of this information and this process, and also that you receive counseling and guidance before making the decision to conceive by donor conception. Article: 31st October 2013 by Tess Young About the Author Tess Young is a freelance writer and blogger. Some of the topics that she writes about include technology, home design, travel and health. She suggests looking at the information provided by California Cryobank regarding the effects of donor conception in order to learn more about the process.

Reality show winner meets children he fathered 24 years ago as a donor

He is best known for as the villainous winner of the reality series Survivor, and subsequently going to prison for tax evasion. But before he rose to fame bagging the $1million prize on the show, Richard Hatch was a young college student who needed to make ends meet. On a recent episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now? Hatch talked about his younger days as a sperm donor, and meets up with two of his biological children who had got in contact with him. Emily and Devin, both 24, found their biological dad through the Donor Sibling Registry and their meeting was filmed for the show broadcast on Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network. However, it had already been revealed back in 2011 before he served jail time for tax evasion that his two children had come forward. But Hatch, 52, has now revealed that he was paid approximately $40 per donation around three times a week for two years, admitting: 'there are probably more.' 'I'm open to, interested in, would be excited about meeting any of them who were interested in meeting me,' he says. Considering the possibility of how many more children that are his, he said: 'I don't spend a lot of time thinking about how many children I may have fathered.' Hatch added: 'I have no way of knowing. I will never have any way of knowing. It seems kind of fruitless to me.' The former reality star also talks about adopting a son named Chris in 1998 and later serving jail time for tax evasion, which he claims he did not do. Hatch was freed from prison in December 2011 on a tax evasion sentence tied to his $1 million Survivor winnings. The star was released from prison for violating the terms of his supervised release in the long-running case. He first brought up the subject of his sperm donation shortly before entering prison, admitting that he had met a 22-year-old biological son who is living in New Jersey. 'It was additionally challenging to be wrongfully imprisoned knowing that these children were coming forward,' Hatch said at the time. 'I told the court that beforehand. I explained this is a fascinating time in my life when I was at a place where I wanted to get to know these people who are my children who have come forward and want to get to know me.' Oprah: Where Are They Now? airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on OWN. Article: 30th July 2013 www.dailymail.co.uk

'Sperm donor the only option for me' says Big Brother contestant

Aisleyne said: ““Sperm donation seems the only logical option. I don’t need a man financially. I can do it myself. I’m 34, my biological clock is ticking and I haven’t got forever.” The party girl says she's had to rethink her priorities since the death of her mother and uncle from cancer last year. She was left devastated when mum Sophia, 54, passed away in February, then three months later in May her uncle Dennis lost his battle with the disease aged 52. Speaking to Now magazine, she said: “I was too busy having fun. I thought I was invincible and had forever. It made me realise how fragile life could be and that I wanted to become a mother. “I want that responsibility of looking after someone completely helpless, to bring them up to be decent and give them the best life I possibly can. I want to live for someone other than just myself.” Since making the Big Brother final in 2006, Aisleyne has kept her love life largely out of the public eye. She briefly dated Mike Tyson in 2009, but despite a rumoured proposal from the former boxer, has yet to find someone to settle down with. She said: “I do think a child needs a dad and that’s a big drawback to doing it on my own. But there are so many single parents or children with a bad father – in this day and age the nuclear family hardly exists. “If I do meet Mr Right he’s going to have to accept me with this child. And anyway, having no stability is more detrimental to a child than having no father at all.” Article: 16th July 2013 www.thesun.co.uk

Liverpool's fertility clinic is having to buy sperm from Manchester

Liverpool's fertility clinic is having to buy in sperm from Manchester because its stocks are so low. Professor Charles Kingsland, head of the Hewitt Fertility Centre based at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, said that a change in the law had led to a drastic decline in donors. Prof Kingsland said: "It’s not just our stocks that are low, it is all stocks because the law concerning donors changed some years ago. Now donors only get reasonable expenses as opposed to getting paid and they can no longer remain anonymous." The drop in donors began in 2005 when people donating sperm and eggs no longer had the right to remain anonymous or be entitled to payment. Now couples face a wait of over a year before a donor becomes available. The clinic has been buying sperm from other sources including Manchester Fertility Services and a private clinic in Harley Street, London. Couples have also had to buy sperm themselves on the internet from reputable clinics in the US and Denmark. Now the clinic is opening a second site in Knutsford, Cheshire, and has launched a campaign to encourage more men to help infertile couples. Prof Kingsland said: "We have the technology. We are offering success rates that even ten years ago were unheard of. Now we need to replenish our sperm bank." "With this campaign we just want to raise awareness. And the enormous benefit for the donor is that they really are helping couples get that longed-for family." Read more about known sperm donation at www.prideangel.com Article: 7th May 2013 Pride Angel

Women should not turn to sex with sperm donors to have a baby

TV show ‘This Morning’ recently discussed women turning to sex with sperm donors in order to have a baby. Sally Windsor joined Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on the sofa on Thursday and said more and more women are turning to websites where men offer natural insemination, as they believe they have a better chance of conceiving. Sally explained that she herself once considered using the websites as she wanted to have a baby. She said: "As woman we can do this if we want to, there's no more of this idea of sitting back and waiting to become parents - that's a little bit archaic. "We can take things into our own hands. If a woman wants to become a mother and they haven't met the right person, there's no sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. ‘Sperm banks are inaccessible and these are the lengths women are going to.’ said Sally Windsor Also joining in on the debate was Kelly Rose Bradford who argued that women should never resort to sperm donor websites, as it's not fair on the child. "(The websites are) bringing conceptions and starting a family down to scouring the internet for sperm," she said. Kelly Rose also highlighted the safety risks involved in using the sperm donor websites. "I would question why these men are offering these services, it's almost like it's just some kind of sexual gratification for them." "It's very different to have a plan in place and go into this situation which could potentially put your health at risk, could potentially put your life at risk, because you don't know who you are meeting." Erika co-founder of Pride Angel says "Women should not go down the route of natural insemination as a method of conception. If a donor is pushing this form of conception then his motives for creating a child are not the right ones." "A minority of donors may suggest this form of conceiving over home insemination, saying that it is more effective than artificial insemination. However this is simply not true, home insemination performed correctly at the right times of the month, is just as effective and sometimes more effective for achieving pregnancy." Pride Angel is the only sperm donor website which screens all profiles and does not allow sperm donors to offer natural insemination or request payment for sperm. Erika said "The majority of our donors genuinely want to help someone create a new life for all the right reasons." Article: 2nd May 2013 www.u.tv

Men and women who donated are encouraged to reveal their identity

Men and women who donated their sperm or egg cells anonymously should consider revealing their identity to their biological children, a study into the ethics of donor conception has recommended. All children born as a result of donor conception after 2005, when the law on anonymity was changed, already have the right to know the name of their biological mother or father when they reach the age of 18. And a panel of experts has concluded that donor-conceived children born prior to 2005 should also be allowed to know who their donor parents are. A report by the independent Nuffield Council on Bioethics says that donors should be told that they can re-register their details with the Donor Conceived Register. There should be no compunction on donors to come forward but it is in the spirit of more openness, with parents encouraged to tell their children if they were the result of donor conception, said Rhona Knight, who chaired the Nuffield inquiry. “In recent years there has been a culture shift. Advice from professionals has gone from the extreme of never telling, to always telling,” Dr Knight said. It is usually better for children to be told by their parents about their donor conception and if parents do decide to tell them then earlier is better.” Article: 17th April 2013 www.independent.co.uk Read more about known sperm and egg donation at www.prideangel.com

US Lesbian couple to testify on behalf of sperm donor

A Separated lesbian couple have both been summoned to testify on behalf of a sperm donor, with whom they had made a written agreement, but who was ordered to pay child support after they split up. A Kansas judge recently ordered William Marotta, a sperm donor to a lesbian couple, to pay child support after they split up, raising questions of how the law protects sperm donors. Mr Marotta and the couple he donated to did not use official channels, and instead met up using a website, and wrote up their own agreement. Because the US state of Kansas did not have a legal way for same-sex couples to marry, when the couple split up, the Kansas Department of Children and Families sought out the biological father of the child, Mr Marotta, for child support. The court clerk’s office at Shawnee County District Court issued subpoenas on Wednesday for Angela Bauer and Jennifer L Schreiner. Reports suggest that the women have been ordered to appear on 15 February, in order to give depositions to an attorney for William Marotta, HutchNews reports. Laws in other states, such as New Jersey are similar to those in Kansas, said Bari Weinberger, a leading family law attorney, and managing partner of Weinberger Law Group. He said that the judge could legitimately rule that the contract written up by Mr Marotta, and the former couple was void, because they did not use official channels to complete the agreement. Mr Weinberger said that these definitions, and the liability of people in relationships with children in their care to pay child support, needed to be updated and clearly laid out. Article: 25th January 2013 www.pinknews.co.uk Read more about lesbian parenting and finding a sperm donor at www.prideangel.com

Pride Angel part of the National Donation Strategy Group

The UK’s regulator of fertility treatment, the HFEA, undertook a wide ranging public consultation last year, which looked at the barriers and motivations to egg and sperm donation in the UK. The review uncovered numerous barriers to donation, some which could be removed through regulation and others which could not be as easily tackled. It is these issues which sit outside of traditional regulation that have led the Authority to set up a national strategy group to find new ways of tackling obstacles to sperm and egg donation. The HFEA aims were to use their unique position as the national regulator to bring together a wide range of experts to come up with new approaches to raising awareness of donation and improving the care of donors in the UK. About the group The group will operate over an initial two year period, after which time the terms of the group will be reviewed. The three core objectives of the group will be to: 1. increase awareness of donation and the information that donors receive 2. improve the ‘customer service’ that donors receive when they contact clinics 3. help donors provide better information about themselves for future families The HFEA aims to bring together a group of people with diverse experiences, including non-licensed donation services, people with experience of blood, organ or tissue donation, as well as those with experience of sperm and egg donation. This includes people with interest in the welfare of donors, patients and donor-conceived people. We are pleased to announce that Erika co-founder of Pride Angel has successfully achieved a place on the group. Erika says ‘We are delighted to be part of these consultations whereby we can make a real difference to the future of sperm and egg donation and the effects upon donors, future parents and ultimately the donor conceived children’. We would really like to hear from any donors, future parents or donor conceived to pass on their views to the donation strategy group. Please get in touch with any ideas you may have at info@prideangel.com or contact us. Click here to read the members of the group

What it is really like in a Fertility Clinic

I have just finished a photo shoot, something else I have never done before, but recently accepted as part of my "self awareness/maturing" process. With my hair done and makeup still on, sporting high heels and a smart dress, I ascend to the 10th floor of a Manhattan high-rise in a desirable neighborhood to the lobby of fertility heaven. My first shock comes when I notice that the majority of the patients in the waiting room have their partner with them. I'm handed a questionnaire that everyone else seems to have filled out at home. I stare at it, thinking to myself that I have no time to answer the endless questions that would require the presence of my husband. The thought crosses my mind that my husband barely remembers I'm doing this... he's somewhere on the other side of the world. I can't even reach him via phone. I remind myself that priorities in here are quite basic: If you want a child, than everything else can wait... I look around and I am aware of not exactly fitting the profile of the average person in the room. I have my wedding band and my engagement ring on. I look young, wealthy, calm and healthy, but I do not have my husband next to me and I'm leaving half of the questionnaire blank. The room is full of couples, mainly Jewish Orthodox ones, and single Asian women and young caucasian men. It's likely some of the single men and women are donors, I think, while the others are couples eager to have children. There are no light magazines to read like when you go to a nail salon, and the waiting area is quite crowded. Desperate to distract myself, I find a pamphlet on single motherhood that covers everything from adoption to IVF with donor sperm, but as a married woman, only half of it really applies to me. I find another pamphlet on fertility yoga. I don't think I have fertility problem for now, but until I go through all of the exams ahead, who knows? I pick up another one on the services offered by the center for couples dealing with infertility but this, too, doesn't necessarily apply to me... I realize how little I know about what's going on in my body. Am I fertile? Will I need to go through the extensive treatments described in the pamphlets that surround me? I feel like none of them speak to my situation. For now, I'm a "special" case, a new breed of woman... in a relationship and likely fertile, but freezing my eggs until the time feels right to have children. I'm not ready to be a mother, but I do not want to wake up one day and regret having played or let someone else play with my right to motherhood. Someone calls my name and I rise to meet her. Article: May 2012 www.huffingtonpost.com

Egg and sperm donor survey - Have your say!

The NGDT want to hear your views on egg and sperm donation. Last year, we blogged about The National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT)’s Donor Satisfaction Survey trying to get feedback from prospective egg and sperm donors. They asked for our support to get the issues addressed, and Kriss Fearon from the NGDT wrote following article for our blog. If you are a donor, please do take part in the NGDT survey as they need just a few more to take part and have your voice heard: What would you think if you approached someone asking if you could donate a large and very personal gift, and your message was ignored, or answered weeks or months later? If, when you went to see them to talk about the gift, they left you waiting and with the distinct impression they didn’t think the gift was important? Would you carry on trying – or assume they weren’t interested, and go somewhere else? This is the experience some egg and sperm donors have when they approach a clinic. The NGDT works with donors on a daily basis and hears directly from them about their experience of donation. Too often the feedback is not good, and yet some small changes in the way donors are treated could produce some big improvements. To carry weight with the people who can make a difference, the Trust needs to prove that changes are necessary. That’s why we are running a survey: to gather evidence of what works and what doesn’t work. This will be the basis for making recommendations on how to treat donors through the whole process of donation, from information-gathering at the beginning to sharing the outcome at the end of the cycle. The NGDT are targeting donors at two stages: first, as enquirers, and second, after a donor has completed their donation cycle. It’s important that donors are treated with respect; it’s also important that those who enquire but do not donate are treated well. People think really carefully before they make that first enquiry. It’s often prompted by the infertility of a close friend or family member, so there’s a big emotional investment. The minimum they should receive for this unpaid act of generosity is to be treated courteously. Why does this matter? For the same reason that poor service matters anywhere else: reputation. Donors talk to their friends and family, who in turn share with their friendship groups. They talk to the media. And, most importantly, prospective donors trust current donors to give them an honest picture of what to expect. The longer-term impact of one person’s bad experience can deter others from ever looking into it. Good donor care is good practice, but it is also an essential recruitment tool. When you’ve known people with fertility problems finally achieve their much loved and hoped-for child, it is hard to understand why the people whose precious gift made such a difference are sometimes treated so disappointingly. That must change. Click here to complete the donor satisfaction survey For more information about the National Gamete Donation Trust, visit their website at www.ngdt.co.uk Read more information about the law for egg and sperm donors.

Ken Livingstone: The ideal sperm donor?

In his new autobiography, the former mayor of London reveals that he helped two friends get pregnant. John Walsh imagines his donation credentials
In his autobiography, You Can't Say That, Ken Livingstone reveals that, in the early 1990s, while living with his long-term partner Kate Allen, he was asked by two women if he would father their children. He obliged with enthusiasm and triumphant success. He gave the first woman, the journalist Philippa Need, a daughter in August 1990 and a son in September 1992. Around the same time, he also helped out Jan Woolf, a teacher and political activist, who gave birth to Livingstone's second son in November 1992, just weeks after the first.

The former, and indeed possibly future, Mayor of London made it clear that in each case he was doing a favour for a friend, "be[ing] around, taking an interest" in the children and "supporting them emotionally", but not living with the mothers.

Ten years later, after his relationship with Allen had ended, and he had got together with Emma Beal, another journalist, he became the proud father of two more children. Despite the potentially awkward convergence of dates in 1992 – which suggest that, while co-habiting with one woman, he impregnated two others simultaneously – the outcome was a happy one, with all three mothers and all five children enjoying summer holidays together.

There is something splendidly patriarchal – something tribal, Mormonite, sultanic – about Livingstone's cheerful polygamous arrangements, and about the casual, even humdrum, way he describes them in his autobiography. It's piquant to find this Lambeth-born working-class hero and Labour MP for Brent East beginning the 1990s by emulating King Mswati III of Swaziland, who had 23 children by 14 wives.

It is an admirable, if not objectively explicable, thing that at least three women were so impressed by his political commitment and strength of character that they settled on him (sometimes not once but twice) to be the ideal father for their babies. But would Livingstone be the ideal sperm donor for everyone? Were he to fill in a form on a donor website, how would it read?

Article: 25th October 2011 Read more www.independent.co.uk

Sperm donor who finds he has 70 biological children confesses to his fiancee

A lawyer who became a sperm donor and donated sperm to pay his way through college has learned that he has fathered an astonishing 70 children.
More than 15 of those have already attempted to contact 33-year-old Ben Seisler.

The sperm donor confessed to his fiancée as part of a new reality show, 'Sperm Donor', that aired on the Style Network on Tuesday.

Seisler donated sperm for three years while attending law school at George Mason, Virginia. He earned around $150 per donation.

He originally planned to remain anonymous but later joined an online registry called the Donor Sibling Registry that connects offspring and siblings to each other and their donors, Boston Globe reported.

During the reality show Seisler also comes face to face with two of his biological children, a boy and a girl.

The Boston lawyer said there is no 'road map' for the situation he is in now.

'It was kind of wild,' he said after meeting the children. 'On the one hand, these kids are biologically my kids. On the other hand they are not my kids. I didn't raise them. I have no control over how they are raised.'

View You Tube click, where sperm donor confesses to his fiancee You Tube.

Article: 29th September 2011 www.dailmail.co.uk

Read more about finding a known sperm donor, or donating sperm at www.prideangel.com

Sperm donors think 'father', while egg donors don't think 'mother'

The increasing number of children born through sperm donation, and the fact that many of those children are just now reaching adulthood, is leading to a revolution in the way we define families. A Tuesday Post story examined how children conceived this way are beginning to search for the donors. (University of California Press)
But what do the donors think? How much responsibility do they feel? A new book is providing some answers. “Sex Cells: The Medical Market for Eggs and Sperm,” (University of California Press, September 2011) by Rene Almeling, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Yale University, provides insights into the relationships between donors, recipients and the children conceived. Over fours years, Almeling studied six sperm banks and interviewed their founders and staffers. She also interviewed 40 donors.

One of the fascinating aspects of Almeling’s research is that she explored how donors, both egg and sperm, perceive their own roles in a family. She found that, despite conventional wisdom, it’s the male donors who feel a stronger connection.

“One of the most surprising things I found was that sperm donors have a straightforward view of themselves as fathers, while egg donors insist they are not mothers,” she wrote me in an e-mail conversation we had about her book. She went on to suggest some explanations for the difference:

“My research points to a long-standing cultural assumption in which the male contribution to reproduction is seen as primary. Indeed, the ancient Greeks, who thought of men as providing the generative seed and women the nurturing soil, would recognize a modern-day incarnation of this formulation in fertility agencies. Sperm donors think of their seed as essential to the child, down playing the role of the recipients. Egg donors insist that their contribution is “just an egg,” pointing to the recipient as the mother, because she is the one who nurtures by carrying the pregnancy, giving birth and raising the child.

Here’s more from Washington Posts Q&A:

Q. With male donors seeing themselves as “fathers,” does it follow that they might be more open to establishing relationships with the children that are created from their sperm?

Almeling: No. In fact, I found that both sperm donors and egg donors were generally willing to meet children who requested it, or at the very least, to provide updated medical information. It is just that the men couched those feelings of responsibility in terms of being a parent, whereas the women did not.

Q. As more and more families are formed using donors, what sorts of ramifications might these perspectives have for the families involved and our cultural definition of family?

Almeling: Reproductive technologies have made it possible to partition motherhood into different elements. The woman who provides the egg, the woman who carries the pregnancy, and the woman who raises the child can each lay claim (or not) to the label of “mother.”

However, in our culture, it is still the case that providing the sperm makes one a father. As more and more families are created through what is called “assisted reproduction,” it will be interesting to see whether definitions of paternity emerge that are as flexible as our definitions of maternity.

Q. Given your research, do you think donors should have more rights? More information? More guidance?

Almeling:Based on my interviews with donors, one of the recommendations I would make is that men be encouraged to seriously consider the ramifications of sperm donation.

Most egg agencies require that women undergo psychological screening, with one of the primary goals being to ensure that they have thought through the prospect of biological offspring. Sperm banks do not require this kind of screening. They are content to let men focus on short-term financial gain rather than long-term implications, and I think it does sperm donors a disservice.

In terms of egg donation, there is a critical lack of data about the long-term effects of taking fertility medications. The egg agencies where I did research did a good job of informing women of risks associated with egg donation, but for women’s consent to be truly informed, those clinical studies need to be done.

Article: 28.09.11 www.washingtonpost.com by Janice D'Arcy

Sperm and egg donor's views wanted

The National Gamete Donation Trust wants to listen to sperm and egg donors!
People think really carefully before they make that first enquiry about becoming an egg or sperm donor. It’s often prompted by the infertility of a close friend or family member. Most donors have thought about it on and off for several years before they contact a clinic.

There’s a big emotional investment, so the way the clinic behaves, especially with that first phone call or email, really matters, just as it matters to be treated decently when you get there.

The National Gamete Donation Trust works with donors on a daily basis and we get to hear lots of donor's stories. Too often the feedback is not good, and yet small changes in the way donors are treated could produce some big improvements.

To carry weight with the people who can make a difference, the Trust needs to prove that changes are necessary. We’re running a survey to gather evidence of what works and doesn’t work, and we need your help.

We want to hear both from donors who have completed their donation cycle and from people who enquired but did not donate. It’s important that donors are treated with respect; it’s also important to acknowledge the kindness that motivates enquirers.

We’ll use what donors tell us to make recommendations on how to treat donors through the whole process of donation, from that first phone call or email to sharing the outcome at the end of the cycle.

When you’ve known people with fertility problems finally achieve their much loved and hoped-for child, it is hard to understand why the people whose precious gift made that possible are sometimes treated so poorly. The minimum donors should receive for this unpaid act of generosity is to be treated well.

Dutch sperm donor with autism, has 20 children after lying about his health

Heartbroken women in The Netherlands have given birth to numerous children with Asperger's Syndrome after a sperm donor lied to them about the state of his health. For 18 months the man's semen has been used despite the fact that he suffers from the hereditary autistic disorder. Incredibly, he is still active as a sperm donor, but not at an official clinic. Dutch media said the man has fathered at least 22 children and several of those are already showing symptoms of autism.
Asperger's Syndrome is a type of development disorder retarding in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize with others, to communicate, and to use imagination. Symptoms include children losing language or social skills, an inability to make friends easily, and developing unusual behaviour patterns, such as spending hours lining up toys or developing odd repetitive movements.

Despite passing on his syndrome and lying about his health, the man is still an active sperm donor Asperger's syndrome was named for the Austrian doctor, Hans Asperger, who first described the problems 1944, but it was not recognized as a unique disorder until much later.

The Dutch sperm donor is aged 30 and comes from the port city of Rotterdam. The woman who had babies as a result of his sperm only found out his true identity in the past month. As well as carrying the Asperger's gene, Dutch newspapers said he had also been treated for depression in the past. The women contacted the man via the Internet; this has become a popular method in Holland due to the long waiting lists at offical sperm banks and the high prices they charge.

Waiting periods vary from six months to two years and prices are usually between 500 and 1,000 pounds. The long waiting lists have also led hospitals to give preferential treatment to heterosexual couples. As a result, many single women and lesbian couples find it is much faster and cheaper to find sperm donors via the internet. 'There is a perceived added value in that the women get to meet the potential sperm donor, but the risks are also considerably higher,' said the Dutch newspaper AD. 'Some of the unofficial donors are reportedly only after sex or out to have as many donor children as possible.'

Identified only as Paul, the newspaper claimed he was a 'pathological liar.' Women have come forward to say that they had intercourse with him, or artificial insemination, after meeting him on websites like Verlangennaareenkind.nl and Bam-mam.nl. Those two sites have since banned him but there are fears he will continue to infect women with the autism gene by changing his identity and advertising elsewhere.

Erika co-founder of Pride Angel, the leading parenting connection website added 'This incident emphasises how important it is to personally meet and get to know your sperm donor, finding out as much as possible about their medical family history.' 'Fertility clinics can only perform limited screening tests, therefore personally getting to know a donor before taking them to a clinic for fertility treatment, is the safest form of sperm and egg donation'.

Sperm donor's altruistic reasons for helping women have children

Simon has two sons, aged 15 and 13, from a failed marriage, who live with him, and a six-year-old daughter from a later broken relationship, who lives with her mother. The 37-year-old divorced former business manager thinks he has a further five children, aged between two months and six years, living in Britain and another eight in countries including Australia, South Africa, Poland and Spain. He admits it could be more, but he plays no part in their upbringing — emotionally or financially — and has absolutely no desire to.
‘If, when they turn 18, they turn up at my door wanting to know who I am, then they would be more than welcome,’ he says blithely. ‘But I am not their father in the true sense of the word and never will be.’ Simon is a freelance sperm donor who offers what he jokingly calls his ‘magic potion’ over the internet to women desperate for children.

They make contact on various internet forums, where women post adverts seeking sperm donors or respond to his posts offering his services. He says the majority of his clients — more than 50 per cent — are lesbian couples, around 40 per cent are single women hoping to beat the biological clock and the rest are heterosexual couples where the man is infertile.

Simon is doing nothing illegal. By offering fresh instead of frozen sperm, his activities fall outside the regulations laid down by the Human Fertilisation And Embryology Authority, which governs licensed sperm banks.

'I'm not doing it for the money. I want to help people who can't afford to use a fertility clinic' Countless appointments have been suddenly postponed because one of Simon’s ladies is ovulating and he is urgently required elsewhere. One day he’s in Bognor Regis on the South Coast; the next in Sheffield, the day after he’s needed in Colchester, Essex. On his travels, he carries his ‘kit’ — a sterile plastic pot in which to deposit his sperm and some sterile syringes for the women to inseminate themselves with, without needing a turkey baster.

But if you were desperate for a child, would Simon’s DNA appeal? A tall, lean, friendly man opens the door to a small, messy detached house littered with his sons’ musical instruments and other teenage detritus. Blond and blue-eyed, the initial impression is of a slightly flaky hippy; an unconventional laid-back character who prefers life in the slow lane.

But appearances can be deceptive. ‘I don’t smoke, I don’t take drugs, I hardly drink and we don’t have junk food in the house. I won’t even eat sausages,’ he says sipping on fresh mint tea. A health and fitness fanatic, he swims, runs and is converting his garage into a gym. His body is clearly a temple. Single since his last relationship broke down last year, he’s lacked the time and energy to commit to another. With two broken relationships behind him, he’s not sure if he’s cut out for marriage.

He used to be the manager of an award-winning aromatherapy firm, which was founded by his Greek-born mother, Franzesca. Simon, who was privately educated and studied aeroplane mechanics in Canada after school, held the position for eight years until he decided he didn’t want to work 65-hour weeks.

Now, he does not work and lives frugally, eking out the savings he amassed during his business career. Simon’s house is owned by his parents, who have retired abroad, so there is no mortgage to pay. He claims to charge around £50 for each sperm donation, plus his expenses — little more than he’d receive if he donated through a clinic. So why bother?

‘I’m not doing it for the money,’ he says. ‘I want to help people who can’t afford to use a fertility clinic. My family, including my parents, know about the sperm donation. My father, who paid a fair amount for my education, keeps saying: “I want my money back.” ’ Given that Simon is not prone to self-analysis, it is hard to unravel what his motives are for becoming a freelance sperm donor. What’s in it for him?

‘I’d read there was a shortage of sperm donors and, though I had two boys, I’d always wanted three kids, so it seemed a good idea.’ Simon applied to an NHS fertility clinic attached to a teaching hospital in London and after undergoing a barrage of medical tests to ensure he carried no sexual or hereditary diseases, he was accepted as a donor. His GP records were also checked for a history of psychiatric illness.

He was paid £20 plus expenses each time, but has no idea if any of this sperm — screened and then frozen for storage — produced any children. When, in 2002, Simon met his last partner, a Korean languages student, he put the sperm donation on hold, but resumed it shortly after the birth of their daughter. He says this was with his partner’s blessing, but not long after, she moved out with their little girl. ‘She didn’t get on with my sons and it was easier for everyone if we lived apart, but we were still together,’ explains Simon. ‘Then she met someone else.’

Simon denies it was a mid-life crisis that drew him back to sperm donation. He says he does not quiz his clients as to why they want children and would only rule someone out if they were obviously mentally unstable. 'It's better than getting pregnant by a stranger in a nightclub. You can’t ask about sexual health or hereditary diseases in those circumstances, can you?'

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HFEA agrees first decisions about sperm and egg donation following review

The UK's fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), has made its first set of decisions following the outcome of its recent consultation on sperm and egg donation, known as the Donation Review. Having analysed responses to the Donation Review, HFEA staff asked HFEA members to approve a series of recommendations at a meeting on 13 July. All of these recommendations were ultimately approved, but in several instances the decision had to be put to a vote and there was a dissenting minority. Additionally, the wording of some of the recommendations was amended during the course of the discussion.

The most straightforward decision made by the HFEA was that the maximum number of families which a sperm or egg donor is permitted to create should not be changed, and that the current maximum limit of 10 should remain. The HFEA also resolved to take steps to encourage clinics to make optimum use of the donor sperm already available, because there is currently a disparity between the maximum number of families that that an individual donor is permitted to create and the number of families that are actually being created from the sperm of individual donors. (The precise size of and reasons for this disparity are disputed).

The HFEA also decided to issue guidance stating that sperm and eggs should not be mixed if they come from very close genetic relatives (for example, brother and sister or father and daughter). If such mixing took place in vitro then this would not technically fall afoul of the UK's legal prohibition on incest. Such mixing is never known to have occurred, but the HFEA decided it was appropriate to issue specific guidance on the matter at this time.

The mixing of sperm and eggs of close relatives is a very different matter from the replacement of someone's sperm or eggs with sperm or eggs donated by a close relative (for instance, a man's wife being fertilised with his brother's sperm, or a woman becoming pregnant with a child conceived using an egg donated by the woman's mother). It was decided that this sort of replacement of sperm or eggs within families should remain permitted, but that 'best practice' in this area should be formulated by the HFEA, in collaboration with professionals and interest groups. It was also decided that clinics should be required to submit data about this sort of donation to the HFEA, so that its prevalence can be established.

Finally, the HFEA considered whether donors should be permitted to place conditions on the use of their sperm and eggs, and if so, then what sorts of conditionality should be permitted. For example, should a sperm donor be permitted to specify that their sperm cannot be used (or alternatively, can only be used) to treat a lesbian, or a single woman, or a woman of a particular ethnicity, religion or age? This is an area where two different parts of UK law (fertility legislation and equalities legislation) are potentially in conflict with one another, and therefore it poses a difficult problem for the HFEA.

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Thirty years of IVF fertility treatment

The birth of the world's test tube baby heralded a new era of fertility treatment, and thirty years on 12,000 IVF babies are born every year in Britain alone.
The development of In Vitro Fertilisation, or IVF as it is commonly known, meant doctors could fertilise a woman's egg in a laboratory, before placing it in her womb to develop.

Since Doctors Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards artificially orchestrated the birth of Louise Brown, IVF has undergone a substantial amount of progress.

Along with steadily raising the rate of success in IVF treatment from their earliest ventures, scientists used the contraceptive pill to more conveniently schedule IVF cycles, making the process easier for doctors and patients.

They also perfected the technique of freezing and thawing embryos, making the technique significantly more effective.

In 1992, researchers developed a method of injecting a single sperm cell directly into an egg, greatly increasing the chances of fertilisation for men with low sperm production.

Increasing effectiveness of the treatment has also meant doctors can implant fewer embryos into the womb – reducing the chance of multiple pregnancies.

And the latest development is a screening process which screens embryos for genetic faults, checking the baby's chromosomes against those of the parents to give it a greater chance of survival and good health.

But these advancements have gone hand in hand with criticism of IVF on both moral and clinical grounds.

Opponents of research into IVF included Enoch Powell, who in 1985 submitted a bill to Parliament which would have prohibited any further embryo research if it had been passed.

Questions have been raised over the ethics of being able to ‘screen’ embryos for potential genetic traits, either good or bad, before they are implanted – the so-called “designer baby” argument.

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