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Many of you reading this are unlikely to have been flicking through a glossy brochure of men ‘available’ to donate, checking out the colour of their eyes and wondering whether they bake bread on a Sunday morning.  HOWEVER, in the future this might be the case.  London Sperm Bank, have taken it upon themselves to try to change the clandestine and at times seedy image of sperm donation aiming to put it on a respectable level by opening up more information about their donors.  They have published a brochure, that will be launched at the Alternative Family Show (September 17^th, Grand Connaught Rooms Covent Garden).  The brochure details the personal qualities of the sperm donors, height, build, eye/hair colour, hobbies and much fuller description of physical appearance along with a personality description.  There will also be a section where the donor will explain his reasons for donation.

The question of known/unknown donor for lesbian parents and single mothers is much debated issue.  Six years ago the law changed so that children born from donated sperm has the right to trace their biological father at the age of eighteen. This opening up of information regarding the donors, could swing more would-be parents toward the ‘unknown’ donor, or should we now say, ‘not so known’ donor.  For those choosing this route it will certainly help calm concerns as more information is now available.  Realistically, the unknown donor route is more likely to offer issues later on when children understand their parental heritage rather than in the early years.  Most advice leans towards openness to the children as early as possible. the Donor Conception Network offers support to parents on how to explain to children about their parentage, and also offers support to the children along their journey.

The taboo of sperm donation may well diminish, with the London Sperm Bank initiative, although like most prejudice it may take years to lose altogether.  Tests on donors can take up to a year with genetic disease and psychological screenings so donation is not an easy decision to make. Last week, three donors were interviewed by the health correspondent of the Evening Standard*, an international cyclist, a musician and a software engineer, all giving their reasons for donation and more importantly allowing the paper to print photographs of them.  Times are changing.  None of the interviewees mentioned baking bread on a Sunday morning though!   

Source: 

Interview with Dr Kamal Ahuja London Womens Clinic.  (LWC is a sponsor of Citypink)

‘Sperm Donation: Who’s the Daddy?’ Sophie Goodchild, Evening Standard