British Fertility Society Calls for Changes to Address Donor Sperm Shortage

The British Fertility Society is calling for changes to address the radical shortage of sperm donors in the UK. They claim many clinics have long waiting lists or have been forced to stop providing services. Three years into the UK's ill fated decision to eliminate donor sperm anonymity, the inevitable shortage is in full swing. Around 4,000 UK patients require donor sperm each year which would require a minimum of 500 new donors each year. According to this article, only 307 men agreed to donate sperm in 2006 under the new guidelines. The resulting shortage of donors has led some fertility experts to ask for an increase in the current limit of 10 pregnancies per donor. Members of the British Fertility Society argue "that this figure is arbitrary and not evidence based, and a more flexible approach is needed." They believe that the limit should be increased to 15 or even 25 offspring per donor.

To view blog from earlier this year see this link.