Motivations and attitudes of candidate sperm donors in Belgium

Abstract

Objective: To study the motivation and attitudes of a candidate sperm donor population in Belgium.

Design: Anonymous survey.

Setting: Tertiary referral infertility center.

Patient(s): One hundred candidate sperm donors applying to the center for a first semen analysis between April 2013 and March 2016.

Intervention(s): Invitation to complete an anonymous questionnaire.

Main outcome measure(s): Demographic characteristics, recruitment methods, motivations and attitudes toward payment, donor anonymity, disclosure to offspring, donation to lesbian couples and single women, views on the donor children and social aspects of sperm donation.

Result(s): The majority of our candidate donor population were older men with a partner who were donating sperm for altruistic reasons. The financial compensation was only an important motivational factor in 31% of the candidate sperm donors. Eighty-two percent of the men said they were willing to reveal nonidentifying information about themselves to donor offspring, but only 26% were willing to donate nonanonymously. The wish to receive certain information about the recipient family and the donor offspring was linked to men who had a partner and a child of their own.

Conclusion(s): The wish to receive and donate information depends on the characteristics and beliefs of the candidate donors. Also, the donor's characteristics were linked to the acceptance of meeting the offspring in the future: the donors with a partner and donors who said they would donate without financial reimbursement were less willing to meet the donor offspring.

Keywords: Attitude; demography; gamete donor; motivation; semen.