Sperm Donation – What You Need To Know

Planning to use a sperm donor to have a baby is a big decision. Whether your partner is dealing with male infertility or you are a single woman who wants to get pregnant, there are many factors that you would have to consider before you decide to go for sperm donation in Chandigarh.

The first thing that you and your partner need to decide is whether you want to use the sperms of a donor whom you know or want to get sperm from a sperm bank. It is recommended that you opt to go for a sperm bank if you do not want the donor to be involved in the life of your child. In most places, the sperm donor is not known and he plays no role in the life of the child who has been conceived by his donation.

Like you do a lot of research to choose the best IVF centre in Chandigarh, you will have to also find out if the sperm bank that you plan to use is reputed and screens the donors for any hereditary or acquired diseases.

You may be recommended to a bank by your fertility doctor. You will need to look at various things like their record keeping and how will you get notified of the donor if the sperm donor reports any genetic or a medical issue. Also, what the bank’s policy is in creating a sibling group. The sperm bank should be asked if they have a limit on the number of donations that one sperm donor can make. You also need to check that the sperm bank follows guidelines like checking if the sperm donor is a healthy male and is in the stated age group. It is also important that the bank does a test to check the medical, physiological and social status of the donor.

You need to be clear on whether your child should know his father. This is a personal decision and it affects yours as well as your child’s future. A sperm donor is not considered to be a natural father and thus he has no parental rights on the child who is conceived with his sperms. But many children have started researching on the donor to learn more about their genetic inheritance and their half-siblings.

Some may be comfortable and may want to be contacted by the donor while others may not want their child to know the person. This is one’s personal choice and every single mother has a right to decide on the same,

It is important that the sperm bank checks the donor for any communicable diseases. The sperm bank should ask the donor about his as well as his family’s medical history. Genetic testing of the sperm is not a necessity, but many reputed sperm banks do it. This lets the sperm banks test the donor for conditions like mental retardation or cystic fibrosis.

You may also want to know the physical characteristic of the donor or what his interests, education, and values are. These may however not be very important to know if all that you want is a healthy child from a healthy donor.