FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are the qualifications for a donor?
A sperm donor must be of legal age and no older than 35 years old and be within normal BMI. He must have a good medical, mental health, and genetic family history. He must live a healthy lifestyle, must not have any drug or alcohol issues, must not be a smokeor vape, must not take medications not prescribed to him by a primary physician, and must practice safe sex techniques to prevent STDs. While not mandatory, most intended parents prefer the donor is in college or has a college education.
How is a private match different than a match through a sperm bank?
Unlike a sperm bank that has anonymous donation and allows for the high rate of 25 families per geographic area, (they can ship your sperm elsewhere and the number will increase) our donors agree to limit the number of donations to no more than 6 families in total. Some donors prefer fewer donations or prefer a single exclusive donation. With a sperm bank, it isthe sperm bank that decides who has access and use of your specimen, but with A Perfect Match it is our donors decide who they will help.
Is a privately matched sperm donor legally responsible in any way for the child?
No, you are not a parent, nor do recipients want you to be a parent! There is a legal contract that provides language and terms that absolve a donor of any legal or financial responsibility for a child created through the donation. We do, however, believe there is a level of personal responsibility when someone donates. We believe it is in the resulting child’s best interest that a donor continues to provide updated medical, genetic, and psychological information, and that the donor is willing to meet/speak with a child who is 18 years or older.
Will I be notified about the birth of a child resulting from my donation?
We believe every donor should know if the donation resulted in a child for purposes of his own family planning, but the exact terms will be determined at time of match and written into the legal contract. As an agency, we encourage our families to at least let us and donor know of a birth and agree to provided updated medical and genetic issues, if any. We want to be able to track births to limit the number of donations/children, but also so we can contact you should we learn of anything that may affect you or your own future children.
How much time does a donation require?
The actual time required for a local donation is generally 10-15 hours; however, the time to get results from all medical and genetic testing can take a few weeks. Each donor must have an initial semen analysis, psychological evaluation and interview, genetic testing, infectious disease testing, medical screening, provide two additional samples for purposes of procreation for the family, and donor must do a follow up FDA infectious disease testing approximately 30 days after the final donation.
What happens to any unused sperm?
Due to our agency policy and the belief that donations and number of children created through donation should be limited, unused sperm is destroyed once the recipient completes his/her/their family unless otherwise agreed upon by all parties.
What is a Non-Identified donor?
A non-identified donor is one that an intended parent may choose or may come from a sperm bank. Through our agency, a donor may still have a phone call or video chat with the intended parent, but the parties do not share any identifying information and the legal contract is written to state this. The term for non-identified donor used to be ‘anonymous’ but this is no longer possible due to DNA testing, facial recognition software, and internet searches. A donor who is classified as non-identified must understand his identity may be discovered later when the child becomes of legal age. With today’s DNA testing, it is possible that you and/or family members would be identified by a child by a simple cheek swab or blood draw whether you intended to be discovered or not. If you want to remain anonymous, donation may not be right for you.
What is the compensation for donation and how is it paid?
The average compensation paid to a first-time donor is $5-10,000, plus travel expenses if you are required to travel outside your home area for a donation. We will present every reasonable offer to the donor and allow the donor to make his own decision regarding compensation. Although APM will help facilitate compensation negotiations between the parties, it is the donor and intended parents who must make all final decisions.
Compensation (Example of $10,000) paid to donor in four installments:
Installment 1: $1000.00 paid when donor does local semen analysis (not to be frozen or used for procreation) genetic testing and psychological screening.
Installment 2: $2000.00 paid for FDA screening and first donation.
Installment 3: $3000.00 paid when donor completes second donation (2-3 days after 1st donation).
Installment 4: $4000.00 paid upon completion of second FDA required screening (approximately 1 month after first donation.)
What is a Known Donor or Identified Donor?
A known/directed/identified donor is one that an intended parent brings to the clinic for purposes of providing a sperm donation for use in procreation. A private match would be considered a directed donation. This type of donation must meet FDA requirements and specific requirements of the IVF clinic. The extent of how much identifying information must be shared by the parties is determined by the clinic and varies from clinic to clinic. The information shared could be as simple as sharing a phone call or video chat, or it could be as extensive as sharing full names and identifying information with one another on a legal contract. Many times, it means the sperm donor must be known to the surrogate. Before a match is finalized, you will know what is expected and you can determine if you are comfortable with the requirements.
Do I have to agree to meet a child in the future?
Intended parents choose a non-sperm bank donor because they want to have more information about the donor and so the child can meet the donor in the future. Unless agreed upon by all parties at time of donation, your identifying information will be released to any child created from your donation who is at least 18 years old and makes a formal request for the information unless you notify us and the parent you don’t want it to be released. Also, in this day of DNA testing and facial recognition software, a child will be able to find out who you are. If you don’t want to be known to a child in the future, then donation through our program is not for you.