Sperm donation
process of donating sperm for reproduction
Sperm donation is the provision by a male of his sperm with the intention that it be used in the artificial insemination or other "fertility treatment" of one or more females who are not his sexual partners in order that they may become pregnant. Where pregnancies go to full term, the sperm donor will be the biological father of every baby born from their donations. The male is known as a sperm donor and the sperm they provide is known as "donor sperm" because the intention is that the male will give up all legal rights to any child produced from the sperm, and will not be the legal father. Sperm donation may also be known as "semen donation".
Sperm donation should be distinguished from "shared parenthood" where the male who provides the sperm used to conceive a baby agrees to participate in the child's upbringing. Where a sperm donor provides their sperm in order for it to be used to father a child for a female with whom they have little or no further contact, it is a form of third party reproduction.
Sperm may be donated by the donor directly to the intended recipient or through a sperm bank or fertility clinic. Pregnancies are usually achieved by using donor sperm in assisted reproductive technology (ART) techniques which include artificial insemination (either by intracervical insemination (ICI) or intrauterine insemination (IUI) in a clinic, or intravaginal insemination at home). Less commonly, donor sperm may be used for in vitro fertilization (IVF). See also "natural insemination" below.
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