DONATING SPERM OVER CHRISTMAS

If you’re currently donating sperm to Semovo, you may assume that you can’t eat, drink and be as merry as usual at Christmas.

But although we hope that you’ll always try to keep yourself in good health- for your own benefit and for your fertility - you can still enjoy yourself this festive party season.

Because when you change lives through sperm donation, we don’t expect you to change your life completely.

Socialising at Christmas when you’re a sperm donor

You don’t need to totally quit everything you enjoy when you become sperm donor. But you do need to bear in mind that certain lifestyle choices can affect your sperm, such as excessive alcohol intake.

We’ll see their effects on the sperm in your sample, when you next come into the clinic to donate.

We can only accept your sperm for donation and freezing if it’s healthy enough for fertility treatment each time. So if we find your sperm isn’t right, we’ll explain what you can do to help improve sperm quality, ready for your next donation.

Practising safe sex – minimising the risk of STIs

One of the things you definitely need to do is ensure that you don’t ever put yourself at risk of STIs when you’re donating sperm. It’s one of the things we ask you to agree to, when you apply to be a Semovo sperm donor.

We’ll test you for STIs at the start of the sperm donation process, and before all your samples are released from quarantine. So we’ll always identify if your sperm is ever a risk for people who need to use it for pregnancy. The best way to be sure your sperm is safe, is to always practise safe sex with all partners.

We also ask that you abstain from sexual activity involving ejaculation in the 48 hours before donation. So your sperm is the very best it can be.

What if there’s a problem with my sperm during donation?

It’s not a huge problem if on some occasions your sperm isn’t up to its usual standard. Sperm quality can be affected by all sorts of things such as illness, stress and other factors.

It just means that you’ll have fewer sperm samples of the right quality for freezing – so you’ll need to donate sperm for longer, until we have enough of your sperm safely stored.

Need help? Speak to the Semovo sperm donor team

If you’re ever unsure about what to do during your time as a sperm donor, speak to our friendly team on 0345 266 1272.

We’re open as normal throughout Christmas and New Year, so you can donate sperm at your local Semovo sperm donor bank in Manchester when it suits you, with slightly reduced clinics at Liverpool and Leeds over the festive period.

You can find out contact details to confirm clinic opening times here.

If you’d like to donate sperm and help other people have a family, apply online here.

Sperm donor criteria includes being aged 18-41, in good health with no serious family medical history.