12 questions and answers
about donor sperm
Are you single or in a couple and considering getting pregnant with donor sperm? Here you will find answers to everything from how the donor is chosen to what options you have for siblings.
Before you get started, it might be good to get an overview of how treatment with donor sperm works. Here you will find answers to the questions that many people in the same situation are wondering about.
1. Where does the donor sperm come from?
Medicus is approved as a sperm and egg bank and recruits its own Norwegian donors. We also collaborate with Cryos sperm bank in Denmark. This gives us good access to donors, and for most people, it means no waiting time.
2. What do we learn about the donor?
At both Medicus and Cryos, donors undergo a thorough medical and psychological health assessment before being approved as donors. Donors are selected based on desired physical characteristics, such as height, hair and eye color, and ethnicity.
When choosing a sperm donor from Cryos, you can choose between two different profiles:
- Base: Contains only information about physical characteristics
- Extended profile: Here you also get information about education, childhood photos, family history, voice audio clips and more.
You can make a wish list of current donors, but that's it the doctor who ultimately chooses the donor, in accordance with Norwegian law. You will not know which donor was chosen.
3. Can we influence the appearance?
Yes, to a certain extent. Many people want the doctor to choose from donors with specific physical characteristics, such as eye color, hair color, or height.
If you are in a couple where the partner is male, the donor should be selected based on the man's physical characteristicsa. If you are single or in a female couple, you can describe the desired traits yourself.
4. Is the donor anonymous or non-anonymous?
In Norway we have open donation. This means that the donation is made anonymously, but openly. The donor's information is registered in the central egg and sperm donor registry, and only the child can later ask to know who the donor is. The child's parents are not allowed to know who the donor is.
5. Can the child meet the donor?
Children conceived after January 1, 2021, can find out who the donor is when they turn 15 and choose to seek out a donor of their own choosing. For children conceived before this, the 18-year age limit applies.
According to the Biotechnology Act (Section 2-7), parents must tell the child that donor sperm was used as early as is appropriate.
6. Does the donor have any rights or obligations towards the child?
No. Donor has no legal rights or obligations towards the child. Only the child can later ask for the donor's identity. The donor also does not know how many pregnancies he may have fathered.
7. Does the child have siblings? / Can we have siblings?
A donor can give birth to children for a maximum of six families in NorwayWe at Medicus do our best to ensure that families who live close to each other do not use the same donor.
If you want siblings later, you can reserve straw from the same donor. We are happy to help you with that.
8. What rights does a co-mother (for two women) have?
A surrogate mother has the same legal parental responsibility as a biological mother when certain conditions are met: You must be married or cohabiting, give consent to assisted fertilization before the treatment and carry it out at an approved clinic in Norway or abroad. When carrying out assisted fertilization abroad, it must be documented when applying for surrogate motherhood that the clinic meets the same requirements that apply to approved clinics in Norway.
It is also possible with partner donation (ROPA), where one partner donates eggs to the otherDouble donation (both donor eggs and donor sperm in the same treatment), however, is not permitted in Norway.
9. What methods are used?
Donor sperm can be used for both insemination (IUI) og in vitro fertilization (IVF)The doctor recommends the method that is best for you based on your history and the findings of your fertility assessment.
10. How do we know that the sperm is of high quality?
To become a sperm donor, one must meet strict requirements. The donor must be between 25 and 45 years old and undergo a thorough health check, including blood tests, a semen sample and a conversation with a doctor. He must be in good physical and mental health, with no known hereditary diseases in the immediate family and free of infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis. Donation must be for altruistic reasons.
Read more about the criteria and requirements for becoming a sperm donor.
11. How quickly can you get started?
We normally have no waiting time for fertility check-ups, treatment or donor sperm. A typical course of treatment takes 2–3 weeks from start to finish.
12. What does it cost?
The price depends on the method and number of attempts. Donor sperm is an additional cost, and the cost varies slightly depending on the type of treatment. If you choose donor sperm with an extended profile via Cryos, this will affect the price.
Many people want to reserve straw from the same donor for possible siblings, and we arrange this at the start. Our donor coordinator will provide you with an overview and guidance at the start of the process.
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