So You're a ‘Traceable' Sperm Donor: Why It's a Good Thing

Does the thought of being an identifiable and traceable sperm donor put you off sperm donation? It’s certainly being blamed as the reason for the lack of sperm donors in the UK.

But the numbers of newly registered sperm donors tell a different story. Since the law was changed over 10 years ago to cease anonymous sperm donation, sperm donor numbers have steadily increased according to the latest available HFEA data.

There were 285 new sperm donors in 2005 when the law was changed. In the year immediately after – when you’d expect to see a negative affect – sperm donor numbers actually rose to 307, peaking at 631 new donors in 2012.

At Semovo, we’ve never had a shortage of sperm donors. So why do some fertility experts still believe anonymity removal is the reason for the UK’s sperm donor ‘drought’?

The removal of anonymity has been a hugely positive thing. Not just for donor-conceived people who can now access information about half of their genetic make-up, but for the types of sperm donors coming forward.

It’s made potential donors think long and hard about the implications of their donation. Rather than it being something done to make some quick cash, a sperm donor is now a very altruistic and generous person, who simply wants to help someone else and is committed to every aspect of the process to do so. It’s these types of sperm donor patients want to use to help them have a baby.

We ensured we were fully prepared for the law change in 2005. We’ve been recruiting sperm donors for over 30 years, and invested considerably in our counselling programme, to ensure all our new sperm donors fully understand the short and long-term implications sperm donation has.

Recruiting sperm donors does take a lot of investment - Not just in the technologies to store the sperm, but to support the sperm donors going through the process.

Many clinics don’t have the resources – and so it’s easier instead to turn to foreign solutions and import sperm from abroad for their patients.

But at Semovo, we’re committed to ensuring that every patient in this country has the option of using a UK sperm donor to have a baby. We know that men do want to donate sperm, sperm donor numbers reflect this, if there’s the right support network in place and a convenient way to donate.

Explore more about sperm donation with the sperm donation experts. With regional donation clinics across the UK, there are easy Semovo donation locations near to you. Read about the process of sperm donation, and sperm donation FAQs.

If you’d like to apply, fill in our simple preliminary online application form. You must be aged 18-45 to become a Semovo sperm donor, and be in good health. If you have any questions at all, just call us on 0345 266 1272.