The Sperm donation process
The following section gives you further information on the sperm donation process at The Fertility Centre.
Initial appointment
If the answers you provide on your questionnaire indicate that you may be suitable to be a donor, the Fertility Centre will invite you to attend an initial appointment (at your convenience). At this appointment we will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you have about the information contained in this document, or about any other aspects of donation.
We will then ask you to produce a semen sample by masturbation in a private room designed for this purpose. We will analyse your sample and discuss the results with you.
It is important to be aware that around half of the men who reach this stage will produce semen samples that are not suitable to be used in donation. This is not necessarily indicative of a fertility problem, as we typically recruit men whose sperm counts are higher than average (due to the degeneration that occurs during the freezing and thawing process).
If your results indicate that you may have a fertility problem, we will take time to explain this to you, and to give you advice on how to get help either now or in the future. We will also offer you a session with our counsellor.
Medical consultation
Early in the donation process, and before you sign any consent forms, we will ask you to make an appointment with the Fertility Centre’s counsellor. This session is entirely confidential, and the counsellor cannot tell us what you say. However, the counsellor can make a recommendation as to whether they think you are suitable to be a donor. The primary objective of this appointment, though, is to allow you to discuss the implications of donation with them, and to ask further questions. You are welcome to have additional counselling sessions if you wish.
Initial screening and consents
Once you have had your counselling session and medical consultation, you will attend the clinic to undergo blood and urine screening tests. You will also complete the consent forms necessary for sperm donation and produce your first donation sample.
Sperm banking appointments
We typically ask our sperm donors to attend the clinic once or twice a week for 5-10 weeks to produce semen samples for donation. We can be flexible with these appointments and can see you during evenings or weekends if you wish.
If it is impossible for you to attend this regularly or for this length of time, then we may be able to accept fewer donations from you. Whether this is feasible will be decided on a case-to-case basis. Please mention to us as soon as possible if you think you may struggle to donate between 10 and 15 times in total.
Final screening
Six months after your last donation date we will ask you to undergo one final round of blood and urine testing. This allows us to be sure that you have not contracted any infections during the donation period. Final screening is a legal requirement of the HFEA.