Reproductive laws related to sperm donation differ between countries.
For example most countries have limits for how many children one single sperm donor may give rise to. The main reason to limit sperm donors is the risk of accidental consanguinity between donor conceived people. On the other hand, limiting sperm donation is a factor for triggering fertility tourism to other countries.
Contents |
| Country | Donor payment (USD) | Children per donor | Donor anonymity | Allowed recipients |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
|
No | ||
| Belgium | 6 children | yes & no | ||
| Canada | 25 offspring per population of 800,000 [3] | yes[4] | ||
| Denmark | 60[5] | 25 children.[6] | yes & no | Lesbian and single women |
| France | 5 [7] | yes[8] | ||
| Germany | 15 children [9] | |||
| Hong Kong, China | 3 children [10] | |||
| Netherlands | 25[7] | |||
| New Zealand | 10 children to 4 families (clinical policy, not legislated) | no | ||
| Norway | 6 children [11] | no | ||
| Spain | 6 children | |||
| Sweden | 50[12] | 12 children to 6 families (2 per family) [13] | yes | Married or in cohabitation[14] |
| Switzerland | expenses | 8 children | no | only married heterosexual couples |
| UK | 10 families including worldwide.[15] | no | ||
| USA | 25 births population of 850,000[16] | yes & no |
In Victoria, there is a limit of 10 families per donor.[1] In Western Australia, the Human Reproductive Technology Act 1991 (HRT Act) limits the number of families for each donor to 5.[2]
The limit of children born from each donor is now six. Before the law was changed in July 2007, a medical practitioner could make his or her own decision on the maximum. In the late 1990s Belgian fertility clinics (or sperm banks) imported large amounts of donor sperm from other countries and this led to Belgium becoming a 'fertility destination'. However, the Belgian Parliament became concerned about this and, along with the promulgation of the Tissues Directive by the European Commission, the Government decided radically to alter the laws relating to maximum numbers.
There is no upper limit to the number of donor offspring in Canada, but sperm banks generally follow the same recommendations as in the US, i.e. a maximum of 25 offspring per population of 800,000.[3]
In Denmark, one donor may give rise to 25 children.[6]
However, Denmark also exports semen to other countries, and where it is the limit of the importing country that is followed, or, when there is no such limit, a fixed amount considering that country's total population,[6] in order to exclude any risk of consanguinity.
In France, donations from a single donor may give rise to six families, but there is no limit to sibling numbers.
Single women and coupled lesbians are not permitted to have treatment using donor sperm. Women in these categories therefore seek treatment abroad, particularly in Spain, Belgium and Denmark. Before the changes to local laws in Spain and Belgium which restricted the numbers of children permitted to be born from a single donor, these were the preferred fertility destinations and clinics in these countries frequently bought in sperm supplies from abroad to satisfy demand.
Legislation provides that a donor may not produce more than fifteen children through his donations. The legal position surrounding donations to single mothers and lesbians is still awaiting clarification by the courts. At present a donor can run the risk of paternity proceedings if his donations are used in such cases.
In New Zealand, a voluntary policy law by fertility clinics limit one donor to "fathering" a maximum of 10 children to 4 families.
Clinics in Norway have a maximum of 6 children per donor.[11]
The law now provides that there must not be more than six births per donor. The same law applies to egg donations. Prior to the change in the law in 2008, clinics set their own maxima on the numbers of children produced from each donor. Spain was becoming a destination for fertility tourists, i.e. women seeking to become pregnant through the use of donor sperm and Spanish clinics were purchasing donor sperm from other countries in order to satisfy demand (see Onselling in main article). Many UK women were travelling to Spain at that time to be impregnated with sperm imported from clinics in the UK for example, where there were already controls on the numbers of children which each donor could produce.
The change in the law in Spain coincided with Europe-wide discussions on the use and export of human cells.
Sperm donation is only permitted by anonymous donation. Surrogacy is not allowed.
In Sweden, a donor may give a child to a maximum of 6 couples. However, each pair may have a sibling in addition. Thus, the limit is 12 children per donor.[13][17] Nevertheless, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) recommends a maximum of 6 children per donor.[18]
Artificial insemination by donor may be done only if the woman is married or in registered cohabitation, and requires written consent of the spouse or partner.[14]
In Switzerland sperm donation is only allowed for married heterosexual couples - not for unmarried couples, singles or homosexual couples. A donor may give rise to max. 8 children.
The HFEA sets a limit of 10 families within the UK which can be created using the gametes of one donor.[15] However, there is no limit to the number of children which may be born to each such family from the same donor. A donor may set a lower limit and may impose conditions on the use of his sperm. Until April 2010 there was no prohibition on the export of sperm from the UK provided that the number of families created in the UK from a single donor did not exceed ten at the time of the export. This meant that in practice some donors could produce substantial numbers of children worldwide until that date.Special permission is required from the HFEA for the export of embryos. A shortage of sperm donors in the UK led to calls from the British Fertility Association for a relaxation of the maximum number of families allowed to be produced from a single donor and for donation and distribution to be handled on a regional basis. In the meantime, some clinics continue to export sperm and to import vials from clinics abroad almost on an 'exchange' basis which enables them to use samples from a wider pool of donors, but they must now ensure that the donor does not produce children for more than ten families.
In the USA, there are no laws governing sperm donation.[19] Rather, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and other expert groups (e.g., American Association of Tissue Banks) provide recommendations and guidelines.[19] The ASRM guidelines limit a donor to 25 live births per population area of 850,000,[16] although this is not enforced by law, there is no central tracking, and it has been estimated that only about 40% of births are reported. It is likely that some donors have over one hundred genetic children.[20] Some sperm banks impose lower limits; e.g., the Sperm Bank of California has a limit of ten families per donor,[21] and the Rainbow Flag Sperm Bank has a limit of donor children by six different women.[22]