Using donated sperm in your treatment

How is donated sperm used?

Donated sperm (sperm not from your partner), can be used in many types of fertility treatment. The donated sperm is used to fertilise an egg either inside the woman’s body (as in the case of intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in the laboratory, in the case of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Is using donated sperm for me?

Using donated sperm is a major decision and you should take your time. You may want to discuss your feelings with friends, family or a professional counsellor before proceeding.

Using donated sperm in your treatment may be recommended if:

using your partner’s sperm would be unlikely to be successful because your partner:
- produces little or no sperm
- produces sperm that is unlikely to fertilise an egg
- has a high risk of passing on an inherited disease
- has had a vasectomy
you are a single woman
you are in a same sex relationship (lesbian).

How does using donated sperm work?

Donated sperm is used either for donor insemination with IUI or for IVF.

The procedure for using donated sperm varies depending on your clinic and the fertility treatment you are undergoing. A typical procedure will be similar to the following:

Step 1. The clinic may do checks before starting treatment, such as:

details of your medical history and of your family’s
physical examination
counselling
screening for HIV, hepatitis B & C, cytomegalovirus (CMV), syphilis and gonorrhoea
blood sugar and blood pressure check
hormone tests to make sure that you are producing eggs
full blood count and your blood group determined
tubal patency test.

Step 2. Your clinic should try to select donors whose physical characteristics match those of yourself and your partner as closely as possible.

You are under no obligation to accept a particular donor.

Step 3. Treatment takes place at the time you ovulate (when an egg is released from an ovary). Some clinics recommend fertility drugs to help increase your egg production.

In donor insemination (DI), the sperm are put into a thin tube which is then used to place the sperm at the entrance to your cervix (the neck of your uterus) or into the uterus itself, using IUI.

Step 4. After treatment, you may be advised to rest for a while before going home. It is often possible for your partner to be with you – ask your clinic.

What is my chance of having a baby using donated sperm?

As with all treatments using your own eggs, the younger you are the greater your chances of success.

For each treatment cycle, the success rate varies depending on the age of the woman. If the woman is:

under 35, the success rate is around 14%
35–39, the success rate is around 8–9%
40–42, the success rate is around 4–5%

What are the risks of using donated sperm?

If you use donated sperm from a registered donor at an HFEA licensed clinic, the risks are minimal because:

donors who give sperm through a licensed clinic must answer a series of questions designed to ensure that they are suitable
licensed clinics check donors’ family histories for inherited diseases
all donors go through stringent screening checks to ensure they are not carrying infections, such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C, cytomegalovirus(CMV), syphilis and gonorrhoea. Donated sperm is quarantined for six months whilst the donor is being screened
there are limits on the numbers of families created by each donor where sperm are used to treat you at a licensed clinic.

Legal considerations

Any child born from sperm donated through a clinic is the legal child of you and your partner, if you have one. The donor has no legal rights or responsibility for the child.

If you use donated sperm in treatment outside a clinic - for example in home insemination (except where this is arranged through a clinic licensed by the HFEA) or from an internet company - the donor is considered by law to be the father of the child, with the rights and responsibilities this involves.

Since April 2005, identifying information about donors is held on the HFEA Register and may be given to any child born from a donation once they are 18 years old.

For more information on donation, and donating, see:

Single parenthood

Clinics have different eligibility criteria so may consider you for donation insemination even if you are a single women. It is worth checking with your chosen clinic at the outset.

If you do not have a partner, they are likely to ask about your plans for caring for the child on your own.

Your child’s siblings

Having more than one child from the same donor - you should be able to use the same donor for more than one insemination, provided the sperm is available and the donor consents.

You should let your clinic know that you may want to use the same donor in the future.

Limits on the number of siblings - in the UK, a donor’s sperm may be used to create up to ten families excluding their own. Your children may share a partial genetic link with children in up to ten other families.

In other countries the same limit does not apply, so if you use donated sperm from abroad many more children may be genetically linked to your child.

Importing sperm, eggs or embryos

Withdrawing consent - the sperm donor can change his mind at any time about the use of his donated sperm. In IVF this would apply up to the point of embryo transfer. This also applies to any surplus embryos resulting from the sperm donation that you have had frozen for your future use.

Telling your child about their origins

If your child, or children, were conceived as a result of assisted conception, telling them about their origins can be a sensitive topic to discuss. However, if done honestly and if discussed at the right time, the issue need not be a difficult one to broach.

Talk to your child about their origins

Page last updated: 28 March 2009

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