title: Evolving minimum standards in responsible international sperm donor offspring quota.
abstract: An international working group was established with the aim of making recommendations on the number of offspring for a sperm donor that should be allowable in cases of international use of his sperm. Considerations from genetic, psychosocial, operational and ethical points of view were debated. For these considerations, it was assumed that current developments in genetic testing and Internet possibilities mean that, now, all donors are potentially identifiable by their offspring, so no distinction was made between anonymous and non-anonymous donation. Genetic considerations did not lead to restrictive limits (indicating that up to 200 offspring or more per donor may be acceptable except in isolated social-minority situations). Psychosocial considerations on the other hand led to proposals of rather restrictive limits (10 families per donor or less). Operational and ethical considerations did not lead to more or less concrete limits per donor, but seemed to lie in-between those resulting from the aforementioned ways of viewing the issue. In the end, no unifying agreed figure could be reached; however the consensus was that the number should never exceed 100 families. The conclusions of the group are summarized in three recommendations.
authors: Chairman of the Working Group, Department of Clinical Chemistry and Haematology, Semen Bank, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands. Electronic address: pjanssens@rijnstate.nl.
authors: Pim M W
authors: PM
authors: Janssens
authors: Praxis für Paar-und Familientherapie, Mörfelden, Germany.
authors: Petra
authors: P
authors: Thorn
authors: U. Reproducción, UGC de Obstetricia y Ginecología, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain; Clinica MasVida Reproducción, Sevilla, Spain.
authors: Jose A
authors: JA
authors: Castilla
authors: Department of Health Services Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
authors: Lucy
authors: L
authors: Frith
authors: Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York and Independent Researcher, York, UK.
authors: Marilyn
authors: M
authors: Crawshaw
authors: Centrum voor Voortplantingsgeneeskunde, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Monique
authors: M
authors: Mochtar
authors: Centre for Andrology and Sexual Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Bjorndahl
authors: Department of Physiology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Ulrik
authors: U
authors: Kvist
authors: Centre for Human Reproductive Science (ChRS), Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK; School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors: Jackson C
authors: JC
authors: Kirkman-Brown
mesh_terms: D003241:Consanguinity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011584:Psychology; D013094:Spermatozoa; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000523:psychology
keywords: cross border reproductive care; donor offspring limits; gamete donation; regulation; reproductive ethics; sperm donation