What Health Screening should Sperm Donors have?

Health & fertility screening is essential when using sperm donation to get pregnant.

This is the process for a sperm donor wishing to inseminate on a private basis i.e. outside of a sperm bank:

• Ask your doctor for a referral for semen analysis and for health screening tests.

Semen Analysis

• You will be required to produce a sperm sample which will be analysed for its quality. The results will tell you how motile your sperm is, what the morphology levels are and what volume of sperm you have per ejaculate. At home semen analysis tests are available in our shop.

Sexual Health Tests

• A range of very simple screening tests will ensure that you are free from sexually transmitted diseases and genetic diseases.

Physical Examination

• Your doctor may also give you a physical examination which is pain free.
   

What is the List of Health Screening Tests for Sperm Donors?

Here is a general list of pre-insemination screening that all donors should produce before any insemination takes place.

Sexual Health Screening Tests:

- ABO-Rh blood typing

- Chlamydia by PCR

- Cytomegalovirus (CMV)Antibody

- Gonorrhea

- Hepatitis B surface Antigen

- Hepatitis B core Antibody

- Hepatitis C Viral Antibody

- HIV Antibody (AIDS test)

- HTLV-1 Antibody

- RPR (syphilis)

Particularly if you are using an African American or Jewish donor you may wish to ask your donor to be screened for some of the following:

- ALT(SGPT)

- Canavan disease carrier screening *

- Chemistry panel

- Complete blood count(CBC)

- Cystic fibrosis carrier screening

- Fanconi anemia carrier screening*

- Gaucher disease carrier screening*

- Niemann-Pick diseasecarrier screening*

- Sickle cell diseasecarrier testing***

- Tay-sachs disease carrier testing**

- Urinalysis

** For donors with Jewishor French Canadian ancestry.

***For donors with African American / African ancestry.

Related Articles: 

Getting Pregnant

Ovulation

Home Insemination

Artificial Insemination

Natural Insemination