A sperm bank provides stored donor sperm samples to people who need to make use of them in order to conceive a child.
People make use of donor sperm for various reasons. Below we mention a few examples where donor sperm can be utilized;
- Azoospermic male patients, who do not have sperm present in the produced semen sample. This diagnosis is confirmed by means of a testicular biopsy.
- Single female patients ready to start a family.
- Same-sex female couples.
Wijnland’s Sperm Bank has worked hard to ensure that only the best-matched profiles are available in our sperm bank. We have invested time in attracting donors who will match the physical and intellectual needs of the donor recipients.
We have also ensured that appropriate emotional and medical screenings have been performed before donors are accepted into our bank. Our standard blood tests include screening for HIV (I and II antibodies), rapid plasma reagin (RPR), hepatitis and surface antigen, hepatitis C antibodies, PCR chlamydia and gonorrhoea, and we also perform blood group testing.
All our sperm donors must comply with normal semen parameters, and donors are rejected if they do not meet our acceptance criteria. Psychological screening ensures that we are aware of the donors’ intellectual capabilities and unique gifts.
As per the National Health Act (2003 and 12 March 2012) and the Children’s Act (2005), a donor can legally not have more than six live births from donation, thus no more than six children (which include sibling pregnancies) may be born from a donor, and sperm donation is anonymous. At Wijnland, we fully comply with these laws. All donor recipients receive highly professional and experienced guidance with regard to receiving donated gametes.
The application process initially consists of a profile form similar to the profile information questionnaire completed by the donor, and also includes agreement and consent forms. These must please be completed in full by the recipient patient and the partner. Each of the involved parties should complete their own questions and both parties must sign all the pages of all the forms. The application can be handed in personally, or emailed to the clinic.
Those applying to be recipients of donor sperm are asked to visit our clinic, if possible, or to give us a call if they need assistance choosing a donor. Patients will be consulted by the laboratory staff, who will provide more information on the medical/scientific process of insemination. The patients will also receive an information session to address any concerns that they might have about the process, and to make sure all aspects of using donor sperm are discussed. This session provides the patients with guidance and is held to ensure that the matching process and treatment costs are explained.
- Own Donor Selection – The recipients access our website for shortened profiles of all our available donors and choose their own donor.
- Assisted Donor Selection – The profiles of the recipients and available donors are compared and matched potential donors are provided by the clinic, from which recipients can then select their donor, if satisfied.
When a donor has been selected and confirmed, the fertility treatment can start. The donor sperm samples can be transported to the clinic where the patient is being treated. This can be arranged with the laboratory staff and should be done at least seven days before the sperm needs to be used for treatment. Donor sperm can only be requested in small amounts, in other words as needed, and is not issued in bulk for future use.
The donor sperm bank needs to keep a very detailed record of all the donor sperm issued, and all the outcomes, to ensure that we comply with the National Health Act. Thus, all information that relates to outcome when making use of donor sperm must be provided to the sperm bank.
This information includes:
- Pregnancy outcomes (for all procedures in which the donor sperm was used).
- Whether embryos were made and stored, and how many are left.
- If unused donor sperm samples are still left or stored at another clinic.
The patients’ help is essential to keep our donor sperm bank records current and updated – so we require all patients to keep us informed of pregnancy outcomes as they happen.
The application process initially consists of a profile form similar to the profile information questionnaire completed by the donor, and also includes agreement and consent forms. These must please be completed in full by the recipient patient and the partner. Each of the involved parties should complete their own questions and both parties must sign all the pages of all the forms. The application can be handed in personally, or emailed to the clinic.
Those applying to be recipients of donor sperm are asked to visit our clinic, if possible, or to give us a call if they need assistance choosing a donor. Patients will be consulted by the laboratory staff, who will provide more information on the medical/scientific process of insemination. The patients will also receive an information session to address any concerns that they might have about the process, and to make sure all aspects of using donor sperm are discussed. This session provides the patients with guidance and is held to ensure that the matching process and treatment costs are explained.
- Own Donor Selection – The recipients access our website for shortened profiles of all our available donors and choose their own donor.
- Assisted Donor Selection – The profiles of the recipients and available donors are compared and matched potential donors are provided by the clinic, from which recipients can then select their donor, if satisfied.
When a donor has been selected and confirmed, the fertility treatment can start. The donor sperm samples can be transported to the clinic where the patient is being treated. This can be arranged with the laboratory staff and should be done at least seven days before the sperm needs to be used for treatment. Donor sperm can only be requested in small amounts, in other words as needed, and is not issued in bulk for future use.
The donor sperm bank needs to keep a very detailed record of all the donor sperm issued, and all the outcomes, to ensure that we comply with the National Health Act. Thus, all information that relates to outcome when making use of donor sperm must be provided to the sperm bank.
This information includes:
- Pregnancy outcomes (for all procedures in which the donor sperm was used).
- Whether embryos were made and stored, and how many are left.
- If unused donor sperm samples are still left or stored at another clinic.
The patients’ help is essential to keep our donor sperm bank records current and updated – so we require all patients to keep us informed of pregnancy outcomes as they happen.
