How to Find the ‘Right’ Sperm Donor

How do you find donor sperm and pick the right donor? Should you use an anonymous sperm donor? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit, interviews Suzanne Seitz, a certified genetic counselor that has worked for in the fertility field for over 20 years. She has been with Fairfax Cryobank for more than 10 years.

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Hit the Highlights
  • Who are the primary people that you see using sperm donation, and how has it changed in the last decade?
  • What options do people have when choosing donor sperm?
  • What issues should you consider when deciding on whether to use a known donor?
  • In general, what type of testing are sperm donors put through before they can donate to a sperm bank?
  • Is it possible to make sure that you can go back and use the same sperm donor for a second child?
  • How long can sperm remain viable in a frozen state?
  • Diversity of donors. How hard is it to find minority and mixed race donors?
  • Who is the typical sperm donor?
  • What type of genetic testing is routinely done?
  • Availability of pictures. From what age are pictures usually available: baby, childhood, adult?
  • Will I know in advance how many times the donor has donated or plans to donate, and how many pregnancies have resulted? How many times are they allowed to donate?
  • Is it possible to select a donor based on IQ or SAT scores?
  • What are the characteristics that people choosing a sperm donor are primarily interested in? I think most people assume it is looks or IQ.
  • Are people primarily trying to match a donor to their partner if they have one? A movie star? Themselves?
  • How specific can people be when choosing a donor? We’ve certainly heard race, but also religion, specific athletic ability (such as swimming or tennis), and more?
  • How do people decide? Create a checklist, gut feel, etc.
  • What of the things you provide such as pictures, essays, interests, etc. do people find most helpful when choosing?
  • For single women: who usually helps with the selection process, or do most do it by themselves?
  • Home insemination vs. artificial insemination by a doctor.
  • Ability to contact in the future: how popular is the option of choosing a donor with the ability to have identifying info when the child is 18?

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