Fertility clinic invites Australians to donate sperm

A fertility clinic in Australia urges eligible sperm donors to help those who hope to become parents. IVF Australia claims 10-15 percent of its patients are in need of sperm donation. Some of these patients are heterosexual couples, single women and women in same-sex relationships.

The donor must provide consent to identification information to New South Wales Health Central Register. Associate professor Peter Illingworth from IVF Australia said for a man to be eligible to donate sperm, he must be aged between 21-45 years, healthy and with no certain hereditary conditions and predispositions.

“If a man approaches us and says he’s interested in considering sperm donation, he’ll then meet one of our doctors for a thorough examination, a full medical history and a counselling session,” he explained. Illingworth stressed that Australian donors are not being paid because that is illegal but they allow reimbursement of legitimate expenses.

Tyson Young, a 25-year-old commercial manager from Sydney, donated his sperm to IVF Australia to help patients who wanted to conceive. He said his adoration for children inspired him to be a sperm donor, and shared that he has a lot of lesbian friends too.

“And I do definitely want some of my own some day but if I could help someone have that joy a lot sooner than me, why not?,” Tyson said per News.com.au. He shared that those who are interested to donate undergo counselling sessions. The donated sperm is being frozen for six months and put into quarantine.

After some months, the sperms are being tested again. Tyson explained that some sperm doesn’t survive the freezing process. He said his donation was all good and he was rescheduled three more donor sessions.

He said he is looking forward to meet the children born from his sperm donations, but does not want to be involved in their lives. For Young, he only served as a tool for people who wanted to have families.

Alana (name withheld at the request of the interviewee) welcomed his son in 2016, thanks to a sperm donor. She was one of the patients at IVF Australia that always wanted to have a child, but that did not happen until a sperm donor came in.

She said sperm donors are changing people’s lives. “The thought of someone so selflessly donating to give life and make someone’s dream come true is the most amazing thing in the world,” Alana said.