News Digest

World’s first independent sperm bank opens in the UK

The world’s first independent national sperm bank has been launched in Birmingham, England, to alleviate the shortage of donors in the UK. The centre is a collaboration between the National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT) and Birmingham Women’s Hospital. Sue Avery, Director of Birmingham Women’s Fertility Centre, said there were currently not enough donors, particularly among ethnic minorities. “At present some patients needing donor sperm are faced with few safe options and find themselves on waiting lists of up to five years, or having to stop treatment altogether,” she said.

Not only is the National Sperm Bank going to revolutionise access to donor sperm in this country, its founders are also on a mission to change the face of sperm donation.

Sue Avery, Director of Birmingham Women’s Fertility Centre

Women will also be able to choose a donor according to criteria such as looks, hobbies and profession. The project, set up with the help of a £77,000 ($120,000) Department of Health grant, hopes to have 1,000 regular donors within three years. James Martin, 39, has fathered five boys in five different families through sperm donation. Since 2005 he, like hundreds more, are no longer entitled to anonymity. He said: “If they want to come and say hello then yes hopefully something will come out of it.”