Directed donation is when the parties may already know each other personally (family or friend) so they share contact information and sign all agreements with full names. Identified Donation is between parties who did not know one another previously but agree to share some or all identifying and contact information with one another. Identified donation may be a choice of the parties, or it may be that due to the donor’s FDA eligibility to donate the parties may be required by the IVF clinic to have a level of shared contact information in order to work together. Identified donation should be used only by those comfortable with having some level of contact and sharing some or all of their identifying information with the other parties. Some clinics require the parties to sign all consents and agreements with full names, addresses, etc. Others may only require the parties meet in person, by video chat or phone and share names. The criterion for Identified donation is a clinic decision, not an agency decision, and requirements will vary from clinic to clinic. As an agency, A Perfect Match has no control over whether in the future the parties will respect agreed upon boundaries, respect the privacy of the other party, or if they will remain in touch over time.

Identified or Open donation requirements may include any or all of these:

A phone conversation between intended parents and donor in which full names are shared, or a phone conversation or personal meetings in which all personal contact information is shared, including phone numbers and emails.

More identifying and contact information shared between the parties, but the information is also added to all legal contracts and/or consent forms.

If a surrogate is involved, any or all the above may apply to all parties—or it may mean that only the donor and surrogate must meet the requirements to be known to one another and share information.

This type of donation is a compromise between being fully known and not known at all. Semi-open donation is when intended parents and the donor agree to share limited identifying information at time of match, but the parties decide they will share limited personal contact and identifying information once the retrieval is completed and there is a known pregnancy/birth.

Semi-open donations are common when the parties agree that a future meeting between the child and donor is important. In addition, all parties agree to maintain periodic contact with each other either directly, through the agency, or through a third party to receive yearly medical updates until the time of meeting occurs. Semi-open donation doesn’t necessarily mean ongoing direct contact between the parties is required or desired. A third-party intermediary such as the Donor Sibling Registry may be chosen as the primary contact for future medical updates and messages.

Semi-open donation is now recommended by most mental health professionals in this industry, and it can be a wonderful option if all parties agree on the level of contact and appropriate personal boundaries before personal information is shared. While we find that this is a wonderful option for many, and most parties show true concern and respect for the other, APM cannot guarantee that parties will adhere to boundaries, remain in touch, or will respect the privacy of the other.

Anonymous donation is the most common type of donation when working through a sperm bank. Due to the advances in technology, however, the risk of being identified in the future is high. Anonymity, no matter how one may try, is not guaranteed to a donor or a donor child.

Until recently, sperm donation was very secretive and donors, intended parents, and even the children created were able to be completely anonymous…or so they thought! With the advances of science, DNA testing, and face recognition software, it is no longer a question of “IF” a donor can but found, but it is now “WHEN and HOW” that can/will happen.

An anonymous/non-identified donation contractual agreement does not preclude a family from asking the donor to meet the child in the future. Mental health professionals agree that it is in the best interest of the child created through donation to have access to medical information and access to the donor in the future, and it is highly encouraged that all donors agree to meet a child at age 18 or upon other agreement. You can control the narrative to some degree as to when and how that will happen. If, however, you never want to be contacted by a child, you should not become a sperm donor. Remember, this is about the well-being of a child – not you!

We see the term ‘non-identified’ now being used to describe a relationship in which Intended parents and their donor share no personal contact or other identifying information with each other—in fact, they may even choose to be identified in the contract by only a number or alias. All donors are asked to remain in touch with any medical, genetic, or mental health changes that could affect a child. This may be done through a professional registry, (Donor Sibling Registry is one) the agency, or an attorney.

Identified, Semi-Open or Non-Identified, all parties need to understand the responsibility to share medical, genetic, or mental health information that can affect the child created through donation, or your right to be informed of any information learned that could affect your own future children. Parties should agree to maintain and update personal contact information through the agency or other third party, such as the Donor Sibling Registry, but an agreement should be made on how to share important information with the other party during the legal contract stage of a cycle.

A Perfect Match conducts its own prescreening of donors for the sole purpose of determining acceptance into our donor program. Our donor prescreening includes the following:

• A profile completed by donor
• A genetic questionnaire completed by the donor
• Photos of donor and donor’s family
• Official test scores and transcripts.
• Documents of donor’s personal identity—driver’s license, school ID, passport
• Records of any previous donations (received directly from the IVF center)
• Any other documentation deemed necessary to make APM’s final decision to list or not list a donor candidate in our program

When a donor is matched with an intended parent, we will provide the following to the IVF center:

• Donor’s profile and genetic questionnaire provided to us by donor
• Copy of donor’s driver’s license and photo
• Any previous cycle records received from IVF centers
• Psychological clearance (as applicable)

A Perfect Match does its best to select candidates based on our experience with IVF center donor criteria. If a candidate does not meet basic requirements, he is generally not accepted into our donor program due to the low chance the donor can pass the IVF clinic screening. However, the IVF center always makes the final determination of eligibility.

Only an IVF center determines the final eligibility of the donor for sperm donation. Only an IVF center can provide or request medical and genetic testing and screening of the donor. Because each IVF center has its own donor criteria, a center requires a donor to complete its own documentation to determine the donor’s eligibility. The IVF center conducts a personal interview with the donor to obtain his family history, infectious disease history, and to complete a genetic risk assessment. This interview may be via video call or in person. All donor screening requirements—including medical, genetic, and psychological screenings—are determined by the IVF center. The following are required by most IVF centers:

Genetic Consult and Genetic Screening
The cost of a genetic consult is paid for by intended parents. The genetic counselor will discuss the findings with the donor. Some counselors will discuss the sperm donor’s consult with intended parents (without giving contact information) but others charge an additional fee to discuss the findings with intended parents, so it can be determined if the donor and intended parents share any potential genetic traits that could cause an issue for a child. Any genetic testing of the donor or the intended parents is determined by and ordered by the IVF center. You will have access to your test results.

Psychological Screening

This evaluation detects psychological issues of a donor, as well as ensures the sperm donor fully understands the long- term and emotional aspects of donation. Although all IVF centers require psychological screening of donors, some IVF centers have their own in-house psychologist to provide the testing and evaluation and he/she determines whether to accept the donor candidate. Centers that do not have their own psychologist on staff require this screening to be done by a licensed mental health professional acceptable to the IVF center. A previous evaluation may be accepted by the IVF center if it is less than a year old.

A PAI, MMPI, or similar personality assessment is conducted with the donor during as part of the psychological screening. The mental health professional will meet with the donor for a personal evaluation to discuss the donor’s history, his understanding of the sperm donation process, and his commitment to the process. (During COVID, testing may be done remotely, and evaluations may be done by phone or video chat) The mental health professional generates a written assessment of the donor’s psychological suitability for a donor cycle. This assessment is submitted to the IVF center for their final approval and determination of the donor’s eligibility, and APM receives a copy for our files. Intended parents will not receive the actual test results or assessment.

Medical Screening

This screening is performed by either the primary IVF center or a monitoring physician approved by the primary IVF center. The IVF physician will review the donor’s existing medical records and conduct a medical history interview. The medical screening will be based on the donor’s history and the IVF center’s specific protocol. A semen analysis will be required to determine the quality of the sperm and its ability to survive a freeze and thaw. The center will also do blood testing to determine whether the donor meets FDA eligibility requirements. To understand more about FDA eligibility, please read the following, which starts with section VI for gamete donors: www.fda.gov/media/73072/download

What are the qualifications for a donor?

A sperm donor must be of legal age and no older than 40 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 smoke or 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.