Sperm donation side-topic for the ladies..
 

Okay, how do you really feel about sperm donation?

As in, your boyfriend/fiance/hubby had done it and you just found out or was wanting to do it??

Personally, I view Soon-to-be-Mr.Rio's sperm as MINE. No donations, I don't care for how much money. I don't want to the possibility of having a child out there that may be his, ya know?

Your thoughts?

This is a really interesting topic. My sister is just now going through the "selection" process for a sperm donor. I've been helping her look through what little information they provide and I've gotta tell you, it's weird.

It's great that couples with fertility problems or women without a man handy can use sperm that's been donated but it sure brings along a lot of problems.

I think I would be okay with my bf donating sperm to some woman in, say, Norway. Anywhere where there wouldn't be any chance of coming across the kid or of the kid unknowingly meeting siblings. I don't know that I would have felt that way if I hadn't experienced the pain that my sister has gone through.

I would be weirded out with the possibility that my boyfriend/husband whatever had kids out there through sperm donations.


As a sidenote, being that I don't know anything about sperm donation, what does this process entail? Do the donors provide medical history or anything along w/ their sperm? (With all kinds of diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. it is important to know your family history with these, right? Even if you were the product of a sperm donation?)

Me, too. I'm very territorial. :p

I'm okay with it, especially considering that I donated eggs to a friend's brother, so he and his partner could have a child. Another woman was a surrogate, I was so not up for that part.

I only know the basics from the woman's side. Medical history is the primary information given (diseases, blood type, etc.) They also list racial/cultural background (Swiss, African-American, French), eye color, hair color, height, weight etc. They also note if the donor's sperm has been successfully implanted and a child has been born from it. I think there's a cap on the number of children the sperm donor can father. Three? Five?

Anyway, some of the websites that do this (and a lot of it is just done online) show a baby picture of the sperm donor. It's really a great way to have some sense of the donor. Once you choose who you want, you "purchase" it online and have it sent to your gynecologist.

Weird.

I wouldn't have a problem with it, along as

a) There would be zero chance of the created child would know the others, as to avoid romantic problems in the future;

b) There was a complete medical history, far beyond what I've seen thus far.


Besides, if you're territorial that way, how do you feel about his masturbating?

Masturbating doesn't lead to children. I would just worry about potential drama and problems that could result in a man having kids floating around out there, even if it is "anonymous."

Ditto!

I know what you mean. I forget the name of the Lifetime movie, but I think Melissa Gilbert starred in it - about that creepy old doctor who used his own sperm on several clients, causing an entire data bank to be set up, so siblings didn't marry? That would really bother me!!

The whole concept of getting Mensa or uber-athletic men to donate sperm is a little disgusting, too. It's too "Hitler-esque"!

Elle: Although Mr. Huntington makes an excellent point...
I have to wonder if the defendant...
kept a thorough record of every sperm emission...
made throughout his life.

Law Prof:Interesting. Why do you ask?

Elle:Unless the defendant attempted to contact...
every single one-night stand to determine...
if a child resulted in those unions...
he has no parental claim over this child whatsoever.
Why now? Why this sperm?

Law Prof: I see your point.

Elle: And for that matter, all masturbatory emissions...
where his sperm was clearly not seeking an egg...
could be termed reckless abandonment.

For some reason, this thread reminds me of the part in "Legally Blonde" where everyone is sitting in the classroom arguing about the sperm donation case.


"Unless the defendant attempted to contact...
every single one-night stand to determine...
if a child resulted in those unions...
he has no parental claim over this child whatsoever.
Why now? Why this sperm? And for that matter, all masturbatory emissions...
where his sperm was clearly not seeking an egg...
could be termed reckless abandonment."

Lol.... great minds ;)

lol i obviously didn't read the replies before posting!

I'm not sure, but I think the cap is 7, I heard it in a movie once, dunno if it's true.

Okay, did anybody see that episode of Strong Medicine where the couple couldn't conceive and blood tests showed they were siblings? Two women chose the same donor and their kids ended up marrying each other. It's really not as far-fetched as all that, especially if a donor impregnates the max number of women, if it's a small city, they are BOUND to meet each other and if they live in close proximity, there's a good chance they'll fall in love (esp. if their moms picked that donor because he was attractive/had attractive qualities, their kids may be equally attractive). This is EXACTLY why my answer is no, no, HELL NO!!!!

Ahh..no thanks!

I would have a problem with it. (especially if I didn't have children of my own yet...
ie: some random woman somewhere is having my man's child and I'm not).

Personally, I'm not in favor of sperm (or egg, for that matter) donation, so I'd prefer to be with someone who wouldn't do it.

Probably a dealbreaker. I figure I am not going to get many "firsts" with a guy, but the one I am insistent on is having a child together as something we both do together for the first time. I know I am ruling a lot of guys out that way, but I don't really care right now.

And, in the back of my mind, even though he is not a dad in the traditional sense, someone still has a part of him in this world. And I am very selfish.

But, maybe if he did donate sperm like once or twice in college, ignorance is bliss?

I would consider (am considering?) donating my eggs to stem cell research. I honestly do not want children...ever. And since theyre going to waste each month...why not put them to some use?

and I wouldn't be against my boyfriend donating his to some sort of medical research either, paid or otherwise.

One of my ex-boyfriends tried to donate when he was a starving recent college grad -- he had many million-dollar characteristics banks look for, but he was rejected because of illness in his family.

If he'd been picked, I wouldn't have had a problem with it. He was doing it for good reasons, and some infertile people would have gotten some great genes.

Ha Ha..this reminds me of "Legally Blonde" when Elle likened ejaculate from masturbating to "abandoned property". LOL

I wouldn't want my sweetie doing. I don't think he has any reason to, he doesn't need the money.

how much do they pay? does someone have to want your sperm in order for you to get money?

i'll do it, i don't care.

also, imagine this. how cool it would be if your kid came out to be a stud athlete, model, politian or whatever. you can be like, " hell yea those are my genes"

or if they turned out to be a bank robber or a HS dropout you can be like " psh, if I raised him he/she would have turned out right"


it's a win win situation.

Seriously can order online?? Thats ridiculous...I'm assuming you'd have to let your OB/GYN know before you go ahead and order anything. I can imagine the office staff would think wtf if they got sperm in the mail randomly...

Yea, the selection of the donor can be done online. Once you've selected a donor it's pretty simple.

You use this thing that looks like a regular pregnancy test (a la EPT, whatever) to find out when you are fertile. You then order your sperm online and make an appointment with your gynecologist. The next day, you're inseminated. Ta da!

Apparently the screening for donors is very stringent. Something like only 5% are accepted.