Sperm donation in the UK

For some years, providers of assisted conception services in the United Kingdom have highlighted difficulties in maintaining the infrastructure needed to recruit sperm donors. In 2006, the number of donors registered with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) was 60% of that in 1991.1 Controversially, the removal of donor anonymity in 2005 may have contributed to this problem. Currently, many clinics struggle to recruit donors, have long waiting lists for those needing treatment, have high costs, and in some areas have ceased to provide treatment services altogether.2 To propose solutions to this problem, a working party of the British Fertility Society has published a report on how the UK recruits donors and uses their donations in assisted reproduction.1

The numbers of women using donor sperm in the UK have decreased by 40% since 2000 to around 3000 each year.3 The introduction of intracytoplasmic sperm injection in the mid-1990s may account for some of this reduction, …