October 19
,
2011
by: ASRM Office of Public Affairs
Published in ASRM Press Release
Embargoed for Release:
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
12:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Orlando, FL, - Survey data from sperm bank customers show that more users still prefer anonymous donation to known donation and that many fail to report the results of their sperm use back to the sperm bank, making the number of pregnancies very difficult to track.
Researchers from the Genetics and IVF Institute surveyed thousands of their customers over the last three years. They report that demand for anonymous donation remains high, with 38% of respondents saying they preferred anonymous donors, 20% preferred identified donors and 42% were willing to use either.
When asked about reporting back to the sperm bank, over 35% of the respondents indicated they had not or did not plan to report the results of the use of the sperm back to the banks. This result points out the challenges of tracking the number of babies born to any single sperm donor.
“This study illuminates the intrusiveness to patients that will have to occur to track reproductive outcomes. At present, reproductive privacy appears to be extremely important to many patients and efforts to reduce it are often viewed as intrusive,” said Roger Lobo, MD, President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
P-545 Trends in Donor Sperm Purchasing, Disclosure of Donor Origins to Offspring and the Effects of Sexual Orientation and Relationship Status on Choice of Donor Category: a Three Year Study.
MA Ottey and S Seitz
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, founded in 1944, is an organization of more than 7,000 physicians, researchers, nurses, technicians and other professionals dedicated to advancing knowledge and expertise in reproductive biology. Affiliated societies include the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, the Society of Reproductive Surgeons and the Society of Reproductive Biologists and Technologists.