Call for sperm donor payment

Terri Judd
Thursday 21 October 2010 00:00 BST
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Sperm donors should be reimbursed in recognition of their "commitment, dedication and selflessness", a leading fertility campaigner has suggested.

Laura Witjens, who chairs the National Gamete Donation Trust, said sperm donors should receive as much if not more money than women who go through the invasive and risky procedure of donating their eggs.

While fertility clinics are not allowed to pay for eggs or sperm, they can compensate donors up to £250 for loss of earnings and expenses. The limit is being reviewed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

While the focus of the review is on women, who have hormone treatment and an operation to remove eggs, Ms Witjens suggested that men who donate sperm should receive equal recognition.

"We're asking men aged between 20 and 45 to have very limited sexual activity for months on end. This has a significant impact on their normal life," she wrote on a BBC website, adding that they must also abstain from alcohol for months and make clinic visits.

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