What are the health checks for?

Before you become a sperm donor the clinic needs to assess whether or not your sperm is viable. A common misconception is that all men have 100% pure and perfect sperm ready for making babies – sadly this isn’t the case. A lot of what you do in your lifestyle impacts on your sperm, so does your age, your health and your genetic makeup.

To see if you will make a good candidate for donating sperm the clinic will take one or two semen samples so these can be checked to determine semen suitability and whether it will adequately survive freezing and thawing. A sample is sent to pathology and cultured for evidence of bacterial infection, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and ureaplasma.

A blood sample is also taken for the following tests:

1. full blood examination (including blood group and screening for thalassemia);
2. assessment of the number and condition of your chromosomes (a genetic ‘karyotype’)
3. screening for infectious diseases such as HIV (the AIDS virus), syphilis, hepatitis B and hepatitis C;
4. screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier status. One in 25 people are a carrier for CF, and since some recipients may be carriers, donors are screened so that any resulting children are not afflicted with cystic fibrosis, which can be life threatening.

Are there any health issues I should inform about before considering donating?

Yes your health has a big impact on the quality and quantity of your sperm. If you are going to consider donating you need to be honest and open about whether:

1. You contract a cold, the flu or a more serious illness. Your health may affect your semen quality.
2. You start taking drugs or medication of any kind.
3. You and/or your sexual partner(s) contract an infectious disease such as HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, herpes, gonorrhoea or chlamydia, either while you are an active donor or after you stop donating.
4. You, your children or anyone in your family is diagnosed with a congenital or hereditary disease or illness, either while you are an active donor or after you stop donating.