Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to sperm banks on the grounds for rejecting donors.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) issues guidance to licensed clinics, including sperm banks, on donor recruitment, assessment and screening in the HFEA Code of Practice. A copy of which is attached.

The HFEA requires clinics to select donors on the basis of their age, health and medical history, provided on a questionnaire and through a personal interview performed by a qualified and trained healthcare professional. This assessment must include relevant factors that may assist in identifying and screening out persons whose donations could present a health risk to others, such as the possibility of transmitting diseases, (such as sexually transmitted infections) or health risks to themselves (e.g. the risks associated with the egg collection procedure or the psychological consequences of being a donor).

Clinics should ensure that its procedures for recruiting donors are fair and non-discriminatory. The HFEA has never required or endorsed prohibiting people with dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other disorders from becoming sperm donors. In relation to the recent press coverage about a particular centre, the HFEA has clarified its requirements for selecting donors with this centre, and has reviewed all the exemptions cited in the centre’s materials, to ensure that all future donors are treated fairly and in accordance with the law.