Individuals and couples looking for a sperm donor sometimes have the opportunity to rely on a friend, cousin, or brother-in-law to be their sperm donor. Directed and Known Donors are not sexually intimate with the donor sperm recipients. On the other hand, a Client Depositor is sexually intimate with the recipient.
Below we get into the details about how sperm donation works when you donate sperm for someone you personally know and the differences between each type of donor.
Directed Donors
Directed Donors are not sexually intimate with the donor sperm recipient and collected samples are placed into a 6-month quarantine before release. Examples of people who choose this type of donor include a friend who is donating for an individual/couple, or when a family member who is not related to the egg source is donating. Samples undergo an FDA-required, 6-month quarantine with infectious disease testing before samples can be released for treatment use. This is the same testing that is done on anonymous donors to ensure that the samples are safe for use. Here are the other steps involved with using a Directed Donor:
Legal Documents
It is important to seek legal counsel before starting any donations or treatment. They will be able to help ensure that parental rights are waived for the donor and rights are established for the intended parent or parents.
Donation Collections
All donated samples must be collected on-site at one of our labs. An initial semen analysis is performed before any samples are collected for treatment. This initial analysis will help better understand the sample quality that will likely be seen for any donations that are collected for treatment use. The initial sample is discarded.
The first sample can be collected on the same day as the physical exam with our doctor. There is a day of abstinence between each collection, resulting in a total of 8 donations in a two-week period. More or less total samples can be collected depending on time and need, but the 180+ day quarantine period starts after the last collection. This way all collected samples can be released together.
Doctor Day
Directed Donors must have their doctor visit before the start of collections. The first collection can be done on the same day as the exam. The goal is then to collect a new sample every other day.
Sample release
After the last sample is donated, all samples collected from Directed Donors are then placed into an FDA-required quarantine for 6 months. To release samples for treatment use, there is an additional doctor visit with a physical exam, infectious testing, and risk assessment at the end of the quarantine period.
Known Donors
A Known Donor is a donor who is not sexually intimate with the donor sperm recipient, however, recipients have chosen to waive a 6-month quarantine period for infectious disease testing. There are various reasons for doing this, but ultimately, the donor sperm recipient has accepted the risk of waiving the additional infectious disease testing. This results in samples being available sooner, but not all clinics will accept these types of samples for treatment use. It is important to discuss treatment plans with the treating healthcare team.
Although the 180+ day quarantine is being waived for Known Donors, there is still FDA-required infectious disease testing to make samples eligible for treatment use. Here are the steps that are involved with becoming a Known Donor for someone:
Legal Documents
Known donors will need to discuss legal responsibilities and contracts with the intended parent or parents before starting any collections or treatments. Speaking with an experienced attorney is the best way to protect parental rights for the parents or parent and waive parental responsibilities for the donor.
Donation Collection
All donated samples must be collected on-site at our lab. The first sample collected is for an initial semen analysis and consultation. This sample is not kept for treatment use and will be discarded. This analysis will be used to give an idea about what sperm cell count and motility will be like for future samples.
Doctor Day
FDA regulations require a physical exam and infectious testing with all donor collections occurring within 7 days of the visiting the doctor. To get the most donations possible for treatment, collections are scheduled 7 days before a doctor day through to 7 days after. There is a day of abstinence between each collection, resulting in a total of 7 donations.
Client Depositors
Client Depositors are sexually intimate with the donor sperm recipients. People choose this option when they will not be present during the time of insemination. This can happen when a partner is deployed in the military or will be out of the state or country for other reasons. Other examples are when a partner is undergoing medical treatments that can impact fertility such as testicular surgeries or chemo treatment.
This option can also be used if someone is looking to preserve their own fertility for future use if they do not currently have a partner or immediate plans for treatment.
If you are interested in becoming a sperm donor for someone you know you can visit online to learn more. Our Donor Coordinator is available to help answer questions at [email protected] or call (858) 732-8500.
