News outlets in the United Kingdom are reporting that sperm donations are at an all-time low, even as births from such donations are continuing to rise. To combat the decline, the UK has increased compensation for sperm donors to £45 per ‘donation,’ though such compensation neglects to consider the negative impacts on the children who are conceived.
According to the Daily Star, there were over 4,100 donor-conception births in 2019. These accounted for one in 170 of all births and nearly one in six IVF births in the UK. The outlet notes, however, that fewer men are donating sperm. In an effort to bolster participation, sperm banks are also offering a free “sperm analysis” with the intent of “demystifying male reproductive health,” in addition to the increased compensation.
The disparity between the number of low sperm donations and rising births likely means that fewer men are fathering more children. This underscores one of the major problems with sperm donation — as children are increasingly being born to ‘anonymous’ fathers who will not be involved in their lives, there is a rising likelihood that they may have numerous unknown siblings.
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Sperm donors across the globe have made the headlines for their prolific activity — some donors have been found to have conceived hundreds of children, and just recently, sperm donor Kyle Gordy said he hopes to have 100 children by the end of 2025. At the same time, there are an increasing number of stories of siblings who, as adults, have discovered they have dozens of siblings they didn’t know about.
While those in the UK are trying to bolster the number of sperm donors, they are ignoring the reality that the children conceived from such practices experience life-long ramifications. Many donor-conceived children have said they feel negatively about the process; one study from Harvard Medical School found that 62% of children born after being conceived through donor technologies consider it to be immoral and unethical. Others have expressed dismay at having been donor-conceived, saying they feel “mass-produced.” As one man noted, donor conception is a “no-win situation” for the child involved.
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Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!
