How to choose a sperm donor
When you decide to start a family with the help of a sperm donor, there are several things to consider when choosing the right donor. This guide helps you navigate the process by providing an overview of the key decisions along the way.
How to choose the right sperm donor
Choosing a sperm donor is deeply personal, and no two journeys are the same. That’s why our donor profiles provide a comprehensive picture of each donor, helping you make an informed choice. Much of this information is also there for the children, should they one day wish to learn more about their donor. Here are our best tips for finding the donor that's right for you.
Choose a few traits that are important to you
We recommend that you decide on three traits that you find important. Closing in on your priorities means you don’t have to spend too much time looking into things that don't matter to you. This can make the selection process feel more focused and less overwhelming.
Use Photo Match to find a donor that looks like you
For some, it is important to have physical similarities between the donor and the non-carrying parent, or if you aspire to become a solo mum, you may want your donor to look similar to you or a family member. Upload a photo and our Photo Match will find donors with similar facial features.
Find donors whose personalities resonate with you
Many want to feel a personal connection to the donor, rather than choosing a donor based solely on physical characteristics. By answering a few questions, you can find donors whose personality aligns with yours. You can also get a better impression of what type of person the donor is by listening to his recorded interview, reading his handwritten note and going through his personality assessment.
Don’t stress over the donor’s medical history
All our donors undergo extensive medical and genetic screening before being approved. However, every person is a healthy carrier of some genetic variants, so no screening can eliminate all risk. By carefully assessing each donor's medical history and genetic test results, we significantly reduce the risk of inherited disease compared with natural conception.
One reason to spend extra time on the Medical Summary could be if you have a condition running in your family and want to make sure it does not occur in your donor’s family.
Create a shortlist of 3-5 donors instead of just one
Sometimes you have to change your donor during your treatment process if, for instance, you need more treatments than expected and there are no more sperm straws available from your preferred donor. To avoid this, we recommend creating a shortlist of donors you like, so you have a plan B and C and don’t have to start your donor search from scratch once again. Save the shortlisted donors to your favourites, so you can come back and easily find them again.
Start exploring our 900+ donors
Discover donors and narrow down your options with our detailed donor profiles.
How Holly and Rumer chose their sperm donor
The couple went with their gut feeling. Some of the things they liked about their donor was his voice recording, knowing he was a family person and that he was well-educated. But, in the end, after having their child all the worrying about finding the perfect donor seemed less important
To think that it took us so long to choose the donor. Now that Freddie is here, all those things don’t matter anymore. We will love him no matter what.
Understanding sperm donor profiles
A sperm donor profile contains a lot of information. This is of course to help you make the choice that’s right for you and your family, but it is just as much a resource for your future child. Donor profiles contain the following information:
- Physical characteristics such as eye colour, hair colour, height and ethnicity.
- A Medical Summary including the donor’s family medical history.
- Personality, interests and educational background.
- Photos of the donor as a child, a voice recording and a handwritten note.
- Whether the donor is ID Release or No ID Release.
Can you choose what your sperm donor looks like?
Yes, you can filter donors by physical traits. Detailed donor profiles with hand-drawn portraits, adult photos, descriptions of eye colour, height and hair colour or Photo Match can help make the choice easier. However, remember that a donor's DNA is only half of the equation – your own genetics play an equally important role in your child's appearance.
Things to consider before buying donor sperm
Before you buy donor sperm, it helps to understand how donor type, legislation, family limits and treatment planning can affect your choice.
At European Sperm Bank, we offer ID release donors and No ID release donors. All the information in the donor profile is the same – the only difference is that with an ID release donor, your child will be able to learn the identity of the donor if they wish when they reach legal age. Whether both types of donors are available to you depends on your country’s legislation.
When choosing a donor from a licensed sperm bank, the donor has no parental rights or legal responsibility over any children conceived with his sperm. You are the legal parent.
In some countries, single women and LGBTQ+ couples may face some structural hurdles, either in access to treatment or in having the non-carrying parent be recognised as a legal parent. If you are unsure of the legal landscape in your country, we are happy to guide you.
When you buy donor sperm from European Sperm Bank, you also buy a Pregnancy Slot. This gives you the right to be treated by that specific donor, and this helps ensure that Family Limits are not exceeded. You don’t have to buy a Pregnancy Slot for each child you have with the same donor; one Pregnancy Slot gives you the right to complete your family with that specific donor.
Please note that a Pregnancy Slot does not reserve donor sperm. To maximise the possibility of future siblings, we recommend purchasing enough straws in advance, as donor sperm may become unavailable over time.
Most countries have legislation on how many families a donor can help, but there is no international Family Limit. We have imposed our own limit of a maximum of 75 families worldwide per donor. We also have donors with lower Family Limits to support informed decision making. You can see the donors’ family limits on the donor profile page.
MOT indicates how many million sperm cells per millilitre there are in a sperm straw. For instance, a MOT20+ sperm straw contains more than 20 million moving sperm cells per millilitre. If you are having IUI treatment, it is recommended to choose a higher MOT, while a lower MOT works well for IVF and ICSI. If you are unsure about what type of treatment you are having, MOT20+ sperm straws suits all types of treatment.
The next step in your sperm donor selection process
Now you should have a better idea of how to start your search for a sperm donor. Create an account with us for free to start looking for your donor.