How sperm and egg donation is changing - Can you help with research?

Stephen Whyte a social sciences researcher from Australia recently asked for people to help him with his study, by completing an online survey. Stephen would like to thank everyone who contributed from Pride Angel. He is delighted to have received approximately 70% of the amount of completed surveys needed to go ahead with the study. But he still needs more people to complete his work. Whether you are looking for a donor, you are a donor or considering donating - your views are valued." Reproductive Medicine has evolved rapidly over the past four decades since the first IVF child was born in the late 1970’s. Unfortunately social research into the field of donor insemination & IVF has not moved as quickly. Over the previous decade the internet has enabled and facilitated a new forum for potential parents to pursue the gift of life. A developing market for people seeking more than is currently on offer from private sperm banks, public health systems, policy makers and governments. More about Stephen..... My name is Stephen Whyte and I am a social sciences researcher from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane (QUT), Australia. I’m conducting research into the changing market for Donors and women seeking donors for DI, IUI, ICSI and IVF treatment. As a father of three beautiful sons myself, I am lucky enough to already know “why” people are seeking the amazing gift of parenthood. What my study is seeking to establish is the driving factors behind the potential parents and donors seeking to step away from the current public and private sector options for donor insemination treatment. My research aims to better understand the participants in this new market place (Website Forums for Donation), so that fiscal policy and legislation can affect more socially beneficial outcomes. Government policy is often based on stringent un-biased academic research such as the type I am attempting to conduct. I am seeking to better understand the donors and potential parents involved in websites such as Pride Angel. To do this I first need to have an understanding of the people involved and what has brought them to participate in such online forums. I have created a short survey that takes approximately five - ten minutes for donors and ten – fifteen minutes for people seeking donors to fill in. The survey does not ask you to personally identify yourself, it is completely anonymous. We do not wish to identify you now or in the future. What we do want is a general demographic outline of you, so as to form a better idea of what has brought you to this forum. Understanding how you have got to this point, the factors that drive you and what is influencing your selection is the essence of this research. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I would ask and hope that you follow the links below, fill in our survey and help us in our research endeavour. Thank you and good luck in your pursuit of the amazing gift of life. If you are a donor please fill in the survey at this link: www.survey.qut.edu.au If you are looking for a donor please fill in the survey at this link: www.survey.qut.edu.au Article: 8th January 2013 by Stephen Whyte - Social sciences researcher from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane (QUT), Australia Looking for a sperm or egg donor, or want to help others by donating, visit www.prideangel.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.