A large number of families around the world are unable to conceive a child on their own due to various factors. Assisted reproductive technologies, for example the use of donor sperm, help these couples.
Recall that recently the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, claimed to be the biological father of more than 100 children. The businessman became a sperm donor 15 years ago, when a friend asked him for help: he and his wife were having fertility problems.
Together with an expert, we find out how the sperm donation process takes place, who can become a donor and how this practice is regulated by law.
What we will tell you about:
Requirements for potential donors
Gynecologist-reproductologist, chief physician of the “Philosophy of Life” reproductive clinic
“The requirements for donors are regulated by Order 803n of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.”
In Russia, according to the law, a healthy man between 18 and 35 years old, physically and mentally healthy, can become a sperm donor.
Photo: istockphoto.com/Sergey Mikheev
During a visit to the clinic, the donor fills out a questionnaire indicating his phenotypic characteristics: blood type, hair, nose and face colour and description, height, weight, eye shape and colour. He also indicates his year of birth, zodiac sign and education (without indicating the educational institution itself). This is the only information a woman receives about a potential sperm donor.
A selection is made among donors: people with bad habits, alcohol and drug addictions, or men of short or tall stature (155 cm or 220 cm) are not included.
Medical examination of sperm donors.
Before donating biomaterial, a potential donor must undergo a consultation with a narcologist and a psychiatrist, as well as extensive laboratory diagnostics: spermogram and blood tests to detect blood-borne infections, including, for example, HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C.
A karyotype is required, a study to determine the presence of abnormalities in the number and structure of human chromosomes.
For IVF donor programs, only frozen sperm is used. After donating the biomaterial, the patient is sent for testing for blood-borne infections (a group of diseases whose transmission mechanism is transmitted through the patient’s blood); during this time, the sperm are quarantined.
Photo: istockphoto.com/Morsa Images
If the tests do not reveal any infections, the sperm is transferred for cryopreservation, i.e. frozen storage. After six months, specialists recheck the stored material for the presence of blood-borne infections and if the analysis does not detect them, then the sperm can be used in the IVF program.
The ethical side of the problem.
The ethical aspects of sperm donation are subject to much debate. Some of the main issues are the anonymity of the donor and his possible obligations towards children born with his sperm. Some experts believe that children have a right to know about their biological origins.
As part of assisted reproductive technologies in Russia, a discussion with the donor is required regarding the procedure for donating material, as well as the principles of the program.
In our country, donation of biomaterial is absolutely anonymous; the identity will not be revealed either to the recipient of the biomaterial or to the children born during the IVF program. The rule also applies in the opposite direction: the donor does not know who received his sperm or whether it was used in the IVF program.
Photo: istockphoto.com/NataliaDeriabina
Non-anonymous donation is possible if the couple independently and mutually expresses the wish that one of their relatives or acquaintances become a sperm donor. In any case, this man must undergo all necessary medical examinations and meet the criteria.
How many children can be born from a donor?
The number of pregnancies a donor can have is limited and is calculated according to a specific formula.
For example, for a city with a population of one million, the maximum number of pregnancies a person can have is 20. After this, he or she is removed from the donor catalog.
This is due to the need to minimize the risk of creating a married couple: children born to the same father. As is known, children born to relatives have significant risks of suffering from developmental disorders.
Read also:
What are the benefits of donating blood for the body? The doctor named 6 unexpected benefits.
Advantages and disadvantages of sperm donation
For a sperm donor, the procedure itself does not carry risks, but only advantages. Firstly, a person undergoes a fairly thorough medical examination of the body, which is always a good thing. Secondly, he receives a reward for the donated biomaterial from the reproductive clinic.
In cities with a population of over a million, the monetary payment for each portion of sperm is on average 4-5 thousand rubles.
The donation situation is uneven across regions and cities in Russia. In large cities, where there are many young and healthy men, there is no shortage of donor sperm, but in regions where there are fewer young people or the health of the population as a whole is worse, I admit that there may be a shortage of biomaterial.
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