We are BeASpermDonor.com! We are a sperm donation program and specialize in long term cryopreservation. Ask Us Anything!

Most western nations have single-digit limits on the number of births that can be from the same donor. Your clinic limits each donor to 25 families in the USA and 15 internationally, for a likely 40+ offspring per donor, before you account for siblings. You also rely on recipients to self-report the births, which means the clinic is likely unaware of many births. Do you think it is ethical to allow a so many people to be born to the same donor? Why do you run your program so differently from the established norms of most western countries and donor-conceived advocates?

We follow the American Society of Reproductive Medicine's guidelines. We also follow whatever local regulations there are internationally. Most family limits are calculated based on the population of a given country or state. I.e., in the UK one donor can be used to create 10 families. One family can be one or more siblings. The UK population is ~68million and they limit to 10 families. The US population is ~331 million and though there is no federal regulation, we limit distribution to 25 reported families, which is less than the number if we used the same population logic. We ask our recipients to report their births so that we can stop distribution at 25 families, and we promote disclosure of donor conception to the children so that openness and transparency are part of their birth story.

How much legal responsibility do you have to the kids, if they do a dna test or whatever and figure out who you are?

When a prospective donor completes the screening and is ready to officially become a donor, they review and sign a donor agreement. In that agreement they agree to relinquish parental rights to any resulting children. On the recipient side, they sign a Terms of Use documenting that they understand and agree that the donor has no parental rights.

Is this type of contract legal in a private way as well? Or is this something your company had to work out legally with the government as a middle man type deal?

Also are there qualifications to be a donor or a genetic test so your company knows exactly the "product" they are providing?

This is out of my realm of legal knowledge!

We perform intense testing on each donor including health screenings, genetic tests, blood tests, background checks, personality assessments, and more.

You mention multiple donations. What are your policies towards distributing the same sperm in a geographical location? There was a heart breaking story on Reddit where an engaged couple found out they were half siblings.

There are limits on the amount of "family units" a donor can have before they are required to stop to avoid situations like these. There are a number of regulations that must be followed!

What is the limit?

We follow the American Society of Reproductive Medicine's guidelines. We also follow whatever local regulations there are internationally. Most family limits are calculated based on the population of a given country or state. I.e., in the UK one donor can be used to create 10 families. One family can be one or more siblings. The UK population is ~68million and they limit to 10 families. The US population is ~331 million and though there is no federal regulation, we limit distribution to 25 reported families, which is less than the number if we used the same population logic. We ask our recipients to report their births so that we can stop distribution at 25 families, and we promote disclosure of donor conception to the children so that openness and transparency are part of their birth story.

How do you confirm whether donors are telling the truth about their health history?

Donors are tested in a number of ways so we can cover as many bases as possible. We do blood and urine testing to cover infectious disease and genetic testing, as well as regular physicals by a contracted physician, psychological exams prior to joining, and a number of other checks to ensure health records are as accurate as possible.

do you keep up with them over time? If a donor develops a medical condition later in life, that could negatively affect their biological children, what role do you play in passing along that information? Especially if the donor prefers to remain no contact when their children turn 18.

Donors complete annual updates to inform us of any changes to their medical information per their agreement upon starting. We keep track of this information over time to make sure that we are providing the most up to date information about each donor.

Do you have race, height, etc requirements for your donation program?

Most requirements deal with the applicants medical history and family medical history. We do a number of other checks on each potential donor (genetics, background check, etc.) and look for all around healthy individuals, physically and mentally. Race does not affect the program requirements and height would only be checked if it was something extreme.

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Extreme would be referring to something that could represent an underlying condition (height to weight ratio far off from normal, over 7' or under 5' sort of extremes)

What about genetic disorders that can be filtered out? Such as Lynch syndrome?

We test donors to see if they are carriers for hundreds of genetic conditions, and only a handful are automatic rejections. We have a program where the buyer can fill out a release and get genetically tested for the same condition to make sure both parents are not a carrier. It is highly regulated to eliminate any issues in the future.

I’m also wondering this

Race does not matter, height is only important if related to underlying conditions!

One day I'd like to breed my dog - can you freeze canine sperm?

Just human sperm at our company! However, the field of cryogenics is always evolving so the possibilities in the future are endless!

How do we know you are not witches trying to steal our semen?

I guess you have to trust us! But we do pay donors well, so it's a win-win for all!

How much do you pay?

Donors make an average of $4000 every six months, with occasional chances for bonuses here and there.

How long/reliable can you freeze sperm?

Current knowledge is that a specimen can be frozen indefinitely. There are samples that have been frozen for decades and still have the expected results when thawed.

Brb about to book an appointment and request it be frozen for at least a hundred years old

Storage fees might be rather expensive for a hundred year storage, but go for it!

Is there a market for “older samples”? Imagine if for some reason someone wanted sperm from “the greatest generation”.

If anything, I think maintaining older samples would be great for human genetics posterity

The market for all samples is the same! It all comes down to what traits the recipient prefers in their donor, so if an older donor is what matches, then that is the right choice.

When I tried to donate sperm a decade ago in Seattle they said that I wasn't eligible because "My sperm didn't freeze well" and they said that was the case with about 75% of men's sperm. Just wonderingm did I misheard them, or isthat was their nice way of saying "we don't want your genes here", or is that true?

Only about 50% of motile (swimming) sperm will survive the freeze thaw process, so most sperm banks are looking for donors whose samples are well above what the World Health Organization deems a "healthy sample"

That could be true! We have very high requirements for donor samples so a person can be fertile, but their sample does not meet the requirements.

How is sperm frozen without the cell being damaged? I've always thought human cells can't be frozen because the ice/water ruptures it when it becomes solid but know eggs and sperm are frozen quite routinely.

Love a science question! We add a freeze media that contains glycerol. Glycerol replaces some of the water in the cell and minimizes the ice crystals that water would normally form, which would break or disrupt the cell membrane. It is a harsh process which is why only ~50% of the sperm survive. For eggs, the standard is now vitrification-which is when cells are frozen quickly to bypass the ice state to a "glass state" . Very cool process (pun intended)

What kind of money can people get for donating sperm?

Typically a donor will earn around $4000 every six months. This can vary slightly, but that is the amount based on the average donor who schedules regular appointments.

You're telling me this whole time I've been doing it for free, when I could have been paid for my morning routine?

bro, you heard those stories of sperm donors fathering like 10-100+ kids right? you getting paid for the possibility of that lmao not just getting a nut off

Modern regulations are very strict to keep the number of children documented and within set limits!

Correct! Head to BeASpermDonor.com for more information!

What is considered “regular”? Every month? Week?

Donors are required to have 72-120 hours of abstinence between ejaculations for appointments, so donors will schedule 1-2 times per week. We have a minimum number of appointments required, but donors can schedule until their inventory reaches its limits.

72-120 hours? Yeah that's where you'll lose 90% of potential Reddit supplier

Some choose not to join because of that, but we can honestly tell by the sample when they are not keeping proper abstinence. The 72 hours makes a huge difference!

Tax Free?

We don't apply any tax to payments, but donors sign a W9 and report their taxes as such independently!

Have you found that policies and attitudes regarding confidentiality have changed since the the advent of companies like 23andMe? Have you found it more difficult to convince prospective donors to participate (given that anonymity is less expected)?

I'm sure that plenty of people who donated in the past may not have been prepared for how accessible they became to their offspring. Are there any concerns about this moving forward, or have you found that today's donors are more realistic about the possibility of future life drama?

Thanks for having this AMA.

Great question. Yes, now that commercially available direct to consumer genetic kits exist and are being used older donors are being identified. We offer counselling sessions with a mental health provider to help donors who didn't plan to be identified navigate the process. We counsel our donor applicants about future contact during the screening process. We do not use the term anonymity anymore because in reality, anonymity doesn't really exist. We do stand by our privacy and confidentiality policies, and ask that everyone involved respect the others' desires.

How many gallons do you have in stock at the moment?

Our unit of measurement is milliliters!

How many milliliters do you have in stock at the moment?

Not sure on a specific number, but a lot!

Almost a gallon?

Significantly more than a gallon!

I had to store some genetic material prior to a surgery, which was a good idea because I now have retrograde ejaculation.

What exactly is my sperm being stored in? Is it just in a plastic cup or some sort of high tech, sci-fi device?

The samples are collected into cups, then evaluated and treated with special media to assist with the freezing process. We then place the sample into cryogenically safe vials that are labeled and carefully documented. The vials are rather small and can only hold about 1mL of sample.

Is the sexual orientation of the donor something that matters or no?

This is a great question. We do not ask the applicants to identify their sexual orientation. That said, we are FDA licensed and must follow the their regulatory requirements. One of the exclusion factors is male sex with a male within the preceding five years. This is similar to the regulation that did not allow queer men to donate blood. When the FDA changed their policy/deferral for blood donation they did not change it for gamete (sperm) donation. Our Director has, over the years, worked with various elected officials and contacts at the Human Rights Campaign to try to get the FDA to change this, but to no avail.

Our Director recently reached out to Senator Booker because he and Congresswoman DeLauro re-introduced the Access to Infertility Care and Treatment Act.

My best advice is for individuals to reach out to their local elected officials and ask them to work to “urge the FDA to remove the ban on MSM in CFR 1271 for sperm donation.”

Thank you very much for the information

You're welcome!

How practical is it as an individual to get your sperm frozen, then have a vasectomy? so you can have the contraceptive benefits while still being able to have genetic children in the future.

We have a number of clients come in for that exact reason!

About how much does that cost?

It can vary slightly, but processing and freezing is between $350-$460, and we offer various storage terms depending on how long you plan on freezing for.

If you say you have samples frozen for decades, how do you choose which samples to use when you have so many. Do they have like a sheet that has all the info to choose from?

33yr Caucasian / Kansas, played football in college

27yr Hispanic / Mississippi on math team in high school

24yr African American / Boston, runs 5ks in spare time

We have an online donor search where clients can view the information for each specific donor. Internally, all samples are well documented and labeled to ensure that the correct samples are chosen when shipping out!

Is there a maximum age for donors?

Donors must be 18-39 years old when donating.

What does your waiting room smell like?

Like a normal waiting room! Our locations are typical medical facilities so they are professionally cleaned regularly.

How do you feel about kids coming of age and showing curiosity to know who their biological father is but being denied that? Not for money reasons but for, ya know, not being denied knowledge of who an entire half of them is?

We offer donors free a counseling session prior to starting the program to cover these situations if they have specific feelings or hesitations they want to discuss, as each person may have a different opinion on this matter!

A sperm donor is not a father, they are providing the sperm to help someone build their family and we recognize the significance of that contribution. Because the donor is an important part of a donor conceived (DC) person's history we provide many items that allow a DC and the recipient a lot of information about the donors. Most importantly, the full medical profile, but also detailed personal profiles, photos, audio interviews, essays, staff impressions, etc. For those who use ID donor, they will have the option of future contact.

I’m a child of a sperm donor from the Fairfax Cryobank, if I know the donor number and with my birth mother’s permission, how would I go about finding info on my sperm donor beyond their public donor profile?

Give our customer service line a call with your information and they can assist to see if the donor is able to be contacted.

Is there a dress code at your clinics?

Donors wear normal clothes! Our clinic is similar to most medical facilities.

How do you collect the sperm?

Donors are required to collect onsite in our collection rooms. Clients storing for themselves can either collect onsite, or order a mail-in specimen kit which is sent back overnight with a preserving media.

What’s the strangest interaction you’ve had with someone about donating sperm?

Most interactions are pretty normal! We are a typical medical facility so applicants and clients are treated professionally. There are a handful of interactions where the applicant may have been nervous about the process, but nothing too memorable! We try to make it as comfortable as possible for anyone who wants to provide samples.

How regularly do Donors experience performance issues?

Applicants and donors are aware of what they are signing up for, so performance is rarely and issue! It is a very professional environment so appointments are nothing to stress about.

How much volume of semen is required per donation?

A number of parameters are checked such as volume, concentration, motility, etc. so it is the overall sample we look at!

There is not a simple answer for this. The volume X the concentration of the sperm is what is important. So you could have a low volume, say 1 mL but a high concentration, or a higher volume, say 5 mL, and a slightly lower concentration.

Do sperm donors get notified if their stuff was successfully used, or if they get to meet their non-legal offspring? Sorry, tried to word that vaguely.

Donors can inquire about the use of their samples, but we will never release identifying information about the recipients or the resulting children to the donor. All contact is initiated by the offspring once they reach the age of 18.

Can you get paid for your sperm?

Yes! Average donors earn around $4000 dollars in 6 months. Check out BeASpermDonor.com for more information!

Have gingers ever become a fad or are we still persona non grata?

All types of donors are welcome! Everybody has their preference of donor, so we just like to provide as many options as possible.

Would you take Chris Chan’s sperm?

Would not pass the background check or medical history, so nope!

Does being on the autism spectrum affect a donor’s ability to get approved?

Yes, applicants with autism would be rejected for medical history.

I once attempted to donate blood but was turned away. The reason they gave was since I lived I Europe during the early 90’s, there was fear of transmission of mad cow disease. Would that be the same for donating sperm?

Current regulations would not prohibit you from donating sperm due to this reason.

Do you think companies like alcor and cryonics are legitimate, do you think we will be able to successfully thaw them in the future?

I cannot speak to whether they are legitimate, however with the speed at which technology is evolving, it is definitely possible for the future!

If someone who had a vasectomy, tried to con you and 'donated' what would the procedure be?

Do you verify the sperm before payment and refuse monies or take legal action?

Each donor provides semen samples prior to being accepted into the program so we know that the quality of their specimen meets our requirements!

How is the work environment for the donors?

It is a very professional environment! Rooms are cleaned after each use and we provide a number of sanitary and entertainment materials.

Do you guys work with ranch owners who want to preserve various animal seed (race horses, rodeo bulls)?

Our company deals with human samples only, however I have heard of labs that do work with bull semen (unsure about the nature of that work, however)

I have a mild case of ulcerative colitis and I've heard that because the conditions qualifies as an autoimmune disorder I'm not a candidate for donation. Is that true universally?

Unfortunately, any chronic illnesses that has a genetic component that makes the likelihood of an affected child higher than if the sperm provider doesn't have the disease would be cause for disqualification.

How often do donors who donate actually end up having a child out there in the world? Aka, if I were to donate, how likely would it be that it’s successfully births a child?

Almost all of our donors' samples result in at least 1 family being created.

So I've recently found that sperm preservation companies only accept samples from men who are tall or some shit? Why is that? Do you guys do that?

Not true! We cannot accept the donor if a trait of theirs could be related to underlying medical conditions, but typically most phenotypical traits are fine! We look at the overall donor and not just that one factor.

Regarding donations, do you turn away LGBT individuals?

I had tried to donate in college, but was turned away for being a gay male.

We do not ask the applicants to identify their sexual orientation. That said, we are FDA licensed and must follow the their regulatory requirements. One of the exclusion factors is male sex with a male within the preceding five years. This is similar to the regulation that did not allow queer men to donate blood. When the FDA changed their policy/deferral for blood donation they did not change it for gamete (sperm) donation. Our Director has, over the years, worked with various elected officials and contacts at the Human Rights Campaign to try to get the FDA to change this, but to no avail.

Our Director recently reached out to Senator Booker because he and Congresswoman DeLauro re-introduced the Access to Infertility Care and Treatment Act.

My best advice is for individuals to reach out to their local elected officials and ask them to work to “urge the FDA to remove the ban on MSM in CFR 1271 for sperm donation.”

Can you still donate if you’ve had the covid vaccination?

Yes! The Covid-19 vaccine only requires a 48 hour deferral period from the time it was received.

What are the practical requirements for donating sperm? I've often read that people are very choosy when it comes to selecting sperm (for understandable reasons), so if you're under 6 feet tall, don't have a postgraduate degree, don't have a prestigious-sounding job, etc., you're unlikely to qualify. Is this true?

The requirements can be found here:

https://www.beaspermdonor.com/sperm-donor-qualifications/

Typically we base the acceptance off of medical history, background, family history, and overall health. Height is less relevant unless related to a medical condition, and donors can apply with only a high-school degree!

Can I give sperm if I have a chronic illness like Crohn disease?

Unfortunately, many chronic illnesses like Crohn's disease do have a genetic component that makes the likelihood of an affected child higher than if the sperm provider doesn't have the disease. Crohn's tends to cluster in families, or cluster with other autoimmune diseases in families.

What's the current state of supply when it comes to sperm? Is there a strong need for more donors?

Yes! Demand is higher than ever and we are always looking to build our donor pool and to diversify with more ethnicities represented.

You seem like the experts that can finally answer this question for me: Why does the sweat from my balls smell different than the sweat from my armpits?

Unfortunately we are sperm experts, not sweat experts! But I applaud your curiosity!

How do you prevent some degenerates with felonies from participating in this? Or is it just free game, you gotta dick that can cum here's 4k? What procedures do you guys use to screen these people before hand? I'm sure if a future mother is getting a sample in the future they wouldn't want some drug addict or criminal.

We complete both a criminal background check and a psychological screen called the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) on all prospective donors.