Often, fertility treatment with donor sperm begin with discussing the different treatment options with a doctor or another healthcare professional. The next step, in most cases, will be to choose the donor for your future child.
There are many aspects to consider when making this decision. Therefore, we have gathered some questions that you can ask yourself to make the process easier.
Should your future child be able to contact the donor?
One of the first things to consider when choosing your sperm donor is whether you would like your child to have the opportunity of getting identifying information about the donor from Cryos.
If you choose a Non-ID Release Donor, your child will not be able to get identifying information about the donor. If you choose an ID Release Donor, the child will have the opportunity to get information about the donor’s identity from Cryos when he or she turns 18.
The choice between a Non-ID Release and ID Release Donor is highly individual and complex and there can be different reasons for choosing one or the other. Before choosing, we recommend you to read more about sperm donor identification here.
How much do you want to know about the donor?
Would you like to know as much as possible about the donor, or do you prefer to only know the basics? This consideration will help you to choose between an Extended or Basic sperm donor Profile. An Extended Profile contains a lot of personal information including baby photos and an audio clip with the donor’s voice. A sperm donor with a Basic Profile only provides you with essential information such as ethnicity, physical characteristics and education/job.
If you would like to know as much as possible about your donor, you also have the option to choose an Extended Profile with pictures of the sperm donor as an adult.
Should your donor be exclusive?
If you prefer to have a donor that is not the donor for children in other families, you can consider choosing an Exclusive Donor. With donor exclusivity, it will only be you and your partner, if you have one, who will be able to have a child with that donor’s donations.
Read more about Donor Exclusivity here.
Extra tips before choosing a sperm donor
- In the end, you only need one sperm donor, but it can be a good idea to narrow down your search to 3-5 donors and mark them as ‘Favourites’ by clicking on the heart-icon in the Donor Search. This might be helpful in case your favourite donor is sold out or has reached the Pregnancy Quota in your country of residence by the time you are ready to order.
- Once you are ready to place your order online, we recommend that you consider making a reservation for extra straws. This is to ensure that you have enough sperm for your entire fertility treatment – and for possible future siblings. Read more about reservations.
- We also recommend that you check the legislation in your country of treatment, since some countries only permit treatment with certain types of donors (Non-ID Release or ID Release). Your clinic or healthcare professional will be able to advise you on this. You can also contact Cryos Customer Care who will be happy to assist you.
Further inspiration for how to choose a sperm donor
If you want inspiration on how to choose a donor, we can recommend our guide to choosing a sperm donor or Whitney and Megans tips to fulfill their dream of a family. You can also see our webinar on choosing a sperm donor with Single Mother by Choice Mel Johnson and our Clinic Account Manager Milagros Ruete.
