Desperately seeking donors: New Zealand's chronic sperm shortage
Virginia Fallon05:00, Feb 21 2021
Caleb Carnie/Stuff
“For those who want children, not being able to have them has an incredible impact on their lives,” Repromed’s Medical Director Dr Guy Gudex says.
New Zealand’s chronic shortage of sperm donors means would-be parents are waiting years for treatment. Virginia Fallon speaks to donors, recipients and specialists about the process.
Charlotte has never met the man who fathered her son.
She knows a bit about him – general details like his age, ethnicity and height – but has no idea what he looks or sounds like; not that it matters.
Most important to the Wellington woman is how the unknown man helped her and her wife become the parents they waited for so many years to be.
READ MORE:
* World AIDS Day: Two babies on the way via world's first HIV-positive sperm bank
* The Gift of Life: Egg donor becomes surrogate as pay back for sperm donation
* Fertility doctor says overseas sperm could help desperate Kiwi parents
Unsplash
New Zealand’s chronic shortage of sperm donors goes back at least 30 years.
“He’s obviously a good person with a good heart, or he wouldn’t have done that for us.”
Men like the one who helped Charlotte are in short supply in New Zealand, where a chronic shortage of sperm donors means would-be parents can wait years for fertility treatment.
Charlotte’s official waiting time was nearly two years, although it felt like forever. Initial attempts to use sperm donated by a close friend failed, as did plans to travel overseas for a donor, so the couple joined the waiting list at a fertility clinic.
“I never expected it to take as long as it did... I’m in my early 40s so time was ticking. We’re so grateful that we received treatment, and we got the child we wanted, but it took a toll.
“Sperm donors do so much for families, and there’s just not enough men willing to do it.”
New Zealand’s lack of donors is an issue that’s gone on for decades and is only getting worse, Wellington Fertility Associates Medical Director Dr Andrew Murray says.
He points to the country’s small population and strict donor laws – including that once children turn 18 they are entitled to know who their donor is – as things that stand in the way.
”The other part is at the moment the strict letter of the law is donors are not allowed to be compensated in any way for what they’re doing. Our view is that needs to be challenged.”
Kevin Stent/Stuff
Wellington Fertility Associates Medical Director Dr Andrew Murray wants the law about compensating sperm donors challenged. (File photo)
About 160 babies are born each year from sperm donors through Fertility Associates, but that number could double if the clinic had the donors it needs.
Sperm donors fall under two categories: personal donors are known to patients, and are usually friends or family members; clinic donors are men willing to donate to the pool of clinic clients.
Of the about 200 men who donate through Fertility Associates each year, 120 are clinic donors. About 350 are needed to meet the current need/waiting list.
While Murray says nobody wants sperm donation to become commercialised, realistic and fair compensation could attract men to donate. Although many clinics will provide donors with a small gift card or taxi chits, that’s the limit to any recompense.
“They do have to give up quite a bit of their time to go to appointments, counselling, have the general screening, all the scrutiny that comes with it, and ultimately these guys are doing an altruistic act.”
The Human Assisted Reproductive Act that bans compensation for sperm donation was passed in 2004.
“When you think about it a lot of work that went into forming this law is now 20 years old. Is this law still relevant to today's values and needs?”
123rf.com
NZ donors cannot be compensated for their expenses; although some receive taxi chits or gift cards from clinics.
In the meantime, Murray urges anyone willing to consider the altruism of being a donor to at least have a good think about it.
“We would love to hear from more men...we would love to see more donors. It’s such an amazing gift to give someone.”
Fertility treatment is a private and personal issue, so while patients and donors were happy to share their stories, they wanted to remain anonymous for myriad reasons.
One Auckland man currently in the donor programme was motivated, in part, to give back to members of the rainbow community who are sometimes excluded by men who get to choose who cannot receive their sperm.
“There’re a number of men who specify they don't want their sperm used for lesbian couples. To me that seemed outrageous... I specified at least half the families my sperm went to had to be lesbian couples.”
A firm belief in the importance of families meant the decision to donate was relatively easy, but the process is gruelling.
After the semen is collected it’s stored for six months and tested again before it’s used.
After an initial meeting with a doctor, blood and genetic tests are run to rule out any detectable abnormalities. Medical and sexual histories are examined as well.
Counselling sessions for donors and their partners are also compulsory, and then, once the donation process begins, things get trickier still.
“You can't ejaculate for three days beforehand and, if you're donating twice a week for two months, then that's the only time you can ejaculate, which impacts things like your relationship. You end up planning your life around it.”
After the semen is collected it’s stored for six months and tested again before it’s used.
As well as the testing, counselling, and eventual donations, there’s the future to think about. While men have no legal rights or responsibilities to any offspring born as a result of their donation, as soon as a child turns 18 they have the legal right to find out who their donor was.
The Auckland man has no problem with that, and has stipulated he’s open to contact from the time children are 12 years old.
“They send an email every time a child is born... they can use your sperm for up to five families with three children per family so that's potentially 15 children.”
In his case, the sperm will only be used for four families, leaving him the option to be a donor for friends in future.
With his sperm not going into the “pool” until October, he can only speculate how he’ll feel when he gets that first email.
“I don't see it will have any great impact on my life, it's just another interesting thing to talk about.”
Repromed’s Medical Director Dr Guy Gudex says New Zealand’s sperm donor shortage stretches back about 30 years, and an ever-increasing number of single women and same-sex couples seeking treatment has compounded the issue.
His clinic currently has a wait time of about 15 months.
SUPPLIED
Dr Guy Gudex, medical director at fertility clinic Repromed in Auckland, says donors change lives.
“The only exception to that is if you're wanting or needing Indian or Chinese ethnicity it's only about six months as we've got a few donors of those ethnicities and fewer people wanting them.
”We have had one single Māori clinic donor in the last 10 years. He got snapped up immediately.”
The long-existing shortage has only been made worse by the coronavirus, because travel restrictions mean women can’t get overseas to access donors, and sperm that’s been paid for cannot be imported into NZ. Those patients are now putting added pressure on local clinics.
Like Murray, he believes the ability to properly compensate donors would help increase numbers, and as NZ would unlikely ever follow The United States – where donors can be paid thousands – it would still fundamentally be an altruistic act.
Donor numbers improved in the United Kingdom when the law changed to allow compensation of up to £35 (NZ$68) per visit, with more available for childcare, accommodation or travel costs.
“Formalising that donors can be recompensed a reasonable amount would certainly help in NZ.”
Put simply, more sperm donors are needed, and they change lives.
“It's the most amazing gift you can give somebody. The World Health Organisation has said reproduction and having a child is an incredibly basic human right. For those who want children, not being able to have them has an incredible impact on their lives.”
The number of single women and same-sex couples seeking fertility treatment has increased dramatically.
A Wellington man in the donation programme says although the process can be taxing, it’s nothing compared to what a child means for someone.
It was his wife who initially pushed for him to become a donor; their own family is complete, and while it took him a little while to get used to the idea, he’s delighted he went ahead.
“We get so much pleasure from being parents, and it was hard to think about people missing out on something I had really just taken for granted.”
Two children have so far been born through the clinic he donated to.
“It’s a nice feeling, but it’s not like being a father; it’s a feeling that you’ve helped people achieve something bloody amazing.“
Virginia Fallon05:00, Feb 21 2021
Caleb Carnie/Stuff
“For those who want children, not being able to have them has an incredible impact on their lives,” Repromed’s Medical Director Dr Guy Gudex says.
New Zealand’s chronic shortage of sperm donors means would-be parents are waiting years for treatment. Virginia Fallon speaks to donors, recipients and specialists about the process.
Charlotte has never met the man who fathered her son.
She knows a bit about him – general details like his age, ethnicity and height – but has no idea what he looks or sounds like; not that it matters.
Most important to the Wellington woman is how the unknown man helped her and her wife become the parents they waited for so many years to be.
READ MORE:
* World AIDS Day: Two babies on the way via world's first HIV-positive sperm bank
* The Gift of Life: Egg donor becomes surrogate as pay back for sperm donation
* Fertility doctor says overseas sperm could help desperate Kiwi parents
Unsplash
New Zealand’s chronic shortage of sperm donors goes back at least 30 years.
“He’s obviously a good person with a good heart, or he wouldn’t have done that for us.”
Men like the one who helped Charlotte are in short supply in New Zealand, where a chronic shortage of sperm donors means would-be parents can wait years for fertility treatment.
Charlotte’s official waiting time was nearly two years, although it felt like forever. Initial attempts to use sperm donated by a close friend failed, as did plans to travel overseas for a donor, so the couple joined the waiting list at a fertility clinic.
“I never expected it to take as long as it did... I’m in my early 40s so time was ticking. We’re so grateful that we received treatment, and we got the child we wanted, but it took a toll.
“Sperm donors do so much for families, and there’s just not enough men willing to do it.”
New Zealand’s lack of donors is an issue that’s gone on for decades and is only getting worse, Wellington Fertility Associates Medical Director Dr Andrew Murray says.
He points to the country’s small population and strict donor laws – including that once children turn 18 they are entitled to know who their donor is – as things that stand in the way.
”The other part is at the moment the strict letter of the law is donors are not allowed to be compensated in any way for what they’re doing. Our view is that needs to be challenged.”
Kevin Stent/Stuff
Wellington Fertility Associates Medical Director Dr Andrew Murray wants the law about compensating sperm donors challenged. (File photo)
About 160 babies are born each year from sperm donors through Fertility Associates, but that number could double if the clinic had the donors it needs.
Sperm donors fall under two categories: personal donors are known to patients, and are usually friends or family members; clinic donors are men willing to donate to the pool of clinic clients.
Of the about 200 men who donate through Fertility Associates each year, 120 are clinic donors. About 350 are needed to meet the current need/waiting list.
While Murray says nobody wants sperm donation to become commercialised, realistic and fair compensation could attract men to donate. Although many clinics will provide donors with a small gift card or taxi chits, that’s the limit to any recompense.
“They do have to give up quite a bit of their time to go to appointments, counselling, have the general screening, all the scrutiny that comes with it, and ultimately these guys are doing an altruistic act.”
The Human Assisted Reproductive Act that bans compensation for sperm donation was passed in 2004.
“When you think about it a lot of work that went into forming this law is now 20 years old. Is this law still relevant to today's values and needs?”
123rf.com
NZ donors cannot be compensated for their expenses; although some receive taxi chits or gift cards from clinics.
In the meantime, Murray urges anyone willing to consider the altruism of being a donor to at least have a good think about it.
“We would love to hear from more men...we would love to see more donors. It’s such an amazing gift to give someone.”
Fertility treatment is a private and personal issue, so while patients and donors were happy to share their stories, they wanted to remain anonymous for myriad reasons.
One Auckland man currently in the donor programme was motivated, in part, to give back to members of the rainbow community who are sometimes excluded by men who get to choose who cannot receive their sperm.
“There’re a number of men who specify they don't want their sperm used for lesbian couples. To me that seemed outrageous... I specified at least half the families my sperm went to had to be lesbian couples.”
A firm belief in the importance of families meant the decision to donate was relatively easy, but the process is gruelling.
After the semen is collected it’s stored for six months and tested again before it’s used.
After an initial meeting with a doctor, blood and genetic tests are run to rule out any detectable abnormalities. Medical and sexual histories are examined as well.
Counselling sessions for donors and their partners are also compulsory, and then, once the donation process begins, things get trickier still.
“You can't ejaculate for three days beforehand and, if you're donating twice a week for two months, then that's the only time you can ejaculate, which impacts things like your relationship. You end up planning your life around it.”
After the semen is collected it’s stored for six months and tested again before it’s used.
As well as the testing, counselling, and eventual donations, there’s the future to think about. While men have no legal rights or responsibilities to any offspring born as a result of their donation, as soon as a child turns 18 they have the legal right to find out who their donor was.
The Auckland man has no problem with that, and has stipulated he’s open to contact from the time children are 12 years old.
“They send an email every time a child is born... they can use your sperm for up to five families with three children per family so that's potentially 15 children.”
In his case, the sperm will only be used for four families, leaving him the option to be a donor for friends in future.
With his sperm not going into the “pool” until October, he can only speculate how he’ll feel when he gets that first email.
“I don't see it will have any great impact on my life, it's just another interesting thing to talk about.”
Repromed’s Medical Director Dr Guy Gudex says New Zealand’s sperm donor shortage stretches back about 30 years, and an ever-increasing number of single women and same-sex couples seeking treatment has compounded the issue.
His clinic currently has a wait time of about 15 months.
SUPPLIED
Dr Guy Gudex, medical director at fertility clinic Repromed in Auckland, says donors change lives.
“The only exception to that is if you're wanting or needing Indian or Chinese ethnicity it's only about six months as we've got a few donors of those ethnicities and fewer people wanting them.
”We have had one single Māori clinic donor in the last 10 years. He got snapped up immediately.”
The long-existing shortage has only been made worse by the coronavirus, because travel restrictions mean women can’t get overseas to access donors, and sperm that’s been paid for cannot be imported into NZ. Those patients are now putting added pressure on local clinics.
Like Murray, he believes the ability to properly compensate donors would help increase numbers, and as NZ would unlikely ever follow The United States – where donors can be paid thousands – it would still fundamentally be an altruistic act.
Donor numbers improved in the United Kingdom when the law changed to allow compensation of up to £35 (NZ$68) per visit, with more available for childcare, accommodation or travel costs.
“Formalising that donors can be recompensed a reasonable amount would certainly help in NZ.”
Put simply, more sperm donors are needed, and they change lives.
“It's the most amazing gift you can give somebody. The World Health Organisation has said reproduction and having a child is an incredibly basic human right. For those who want children, not being able to have them has an incredible impact on their lives.”
The number of single women and same-sex couples seeking fertility treatment has increased dramatically.
A Wellington man in the donation programme says although the process can be taxing, it’s nothing compared to what a child means for someone.
It was his wife who initially pushed for him to become a donor; their own family is complete, and while it took him a little while to get used to the idea, he’s delighted he went ahead.
“We get so much pleasure from being parents, and it was hard to think about people missing out on something I had really just taken for granted.”
Two children have so far been born through the clinic he donated to.
“It’s a nice feeling, but it’s not like being a father; it’s a feeling that you’ve helped people achieve something bloody amazing.“
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