Fertility clinic overwhelmed as donor sperm crisis deepens
March 3, 2008
Southampton-based Wessex Fertility has become overwhelmed with demand for donor sperm as women seeking fertility treatment struggle to find donors, following the introduction of a new law in 2005 removing donors’ anonymity. The clinic, one of a small number in the UK that has developed its own, in-house sperm bank, has been sought out by women from all over the south of the country seeking donor sperm. The donor sperm has only recently become accessible at Wessex Fertility following the statutory six month quarantine period.
“The change in legislation has had a significant impact on the availability of donor sperm. When you add to this the need to carefully store and test the sperm for a minimum of six months, the picture becomes even more disheartening for women in need of donor sperm for fertility treatment,” said Dr Chantal Simonis, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the clinic.
Dr Sue Ingamells, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, added: “We began to create our own sperm bank at Wessex Fertility more than two years ago in anticipation of a shortage. Although we are one of a handful of clinics in the UK with available donor sperm, we still have a long waiting list and are only able to treat a few patients per donor, forcing many women to continue the long wait for treatment.”
The National Gamete Donation Trust is a nationwide charity set up to raise awareness of the shortage of UK sperm and egg donors and Pip Morris, Donor Recruitment Manager of the National Gamete Donation Trust, added: “With or without the removal of anonymity, there have never been enough donors in the UK and we welcome Wessex Fertility’s initiative in raising public awareness and bringing hope to many recipients. Wessex Fertility were one of the few UK licensed fertility clinics to commence recruiting their own sperm donors in the lead up to the removal of anonymity in April 2005 and their foresight and perseverance has paid off. Sperm donor numbers have been steadily increasing the last few years (from 250 in 2004 to 295 in 2006) but we estimate we need at least 500 sperm donors in the UK to fulfill demand. I would encourage anyone considering sperm donation and who is aged between 18 and 45 years old to contact us for impartial and confidential information.”
Clare and Ben George of Portsmouth are hopeful that access to donor sperm will make a big difference to their lives. Currently on the waiting list at Wessex Fertility, Ben commented: “We hadn’t realised just how important having children was to us until we discovered that we were unable to conceive naturally. We quickly decided that we wanted to seek donor sperm so that our dream of having our own children could become a reality, even if our baby does not have my genes but only Clare’s. We weren’t aware just how high the demand was and wish we had got on the waiting list as soon as possible. Wessex Fertility have been incredibly supportive, providing counselling and a real empathy for our personal circumstances.”
Ben continued: “The lack of donors is a major issue, and we have been surprised just how many people are affected. That’s why we are keen to highlight the need for sperm and egg donors so that couples like us can fulfill their dreams of having children. In fact, Clare is considering donating some of her eggs to help people in a similar situation to ours.”