This via hotair.com, and from there via time.com to bbc.com: Sperm “donations” are down in the UK, and sperm-purchasers are looking outside the UK, with 1/4 of sperm coming from abroad, primarily Denmark and the U.S. In addition, there is a concern that fertility clinics may resort to using poor-quality sperm, that is, sperm which can’t readily just be used for artificial insemination but only for more complex direct procedures.
Why? in 2005, anonymous sperm donation was ended in the U.K. (See the article that the prior BBC article links to, “Sperm Donor Anonymity Ends.”) At the age of 18, any sperm donor-conceived child (or egg-donor conceived child) has the right to know the identities of his genetic parents.
The odd thing about this article is that it focuses entirely on infertile couples using donor gametes. How does the increase in women seeking to be “single mothers by choice” or in gay and lesbian couples wanting to be co-parents (and legally both parties are declared the parents, two mothers or two fathers, in the UK) affect the supply and demand of donor gametes? Inquiring minds want to know.
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