Louise Brown with two bundles of joy at the 25th anniversary of test tube babies
There can be nothing more heartbreaking for couples who desperately want a child, but are unable to conceive. In fact, this was a real fear for me when I married as my husband was diagnosed with a fertility problem. Fortunately, good luck was on our side and we now have two great lads.

But imagine if that had not been the case, if we we had ploughed all our savings into seeking a sperm donor from Bourn Hall Clinic, famed for pioneering the world’s first test tube baby Louise Brown in 1978.

At one time becoming a sperm donor was something hard-up students did to boost their income (and we know how much poorer they are today faced with crippling tuition fees), but that no longer happens. As a result of new regulations introduced by the Government, the British source of donated sperm has dried up. And the Government has failed to keep its word to actively campaign in the UK for more donors, having ignored warnings of a donor supply crisis from Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.

Up until April 2005, donors had the choice of giving anonymously, providing only basic information such as blood type to recipients. Now they have to give their name and address and any child born as a result of that sperm has a legal right to track down their biological father, although they will not have any financial or legal responsibilites.

In desperation, Bourn Hall has turned to a donor bank in Denmark to make up their shortfall. It’s ironic that the descendents of these lusty Danes, who once invaded England with fierce and bloody battles, will provide the genes for our future generation.

Several hundreds of years have passed since the Vikings plundered our land, and thankfully their repuatation today is considerably enhanced; they are now reputed to be the happiest country in the world, which should surely make them their genes much sought after. The UK came a derisory 41st on the world map of happiness.

Andrew Lansley describes how his warnings to the Government were ignored.

“We did explain to the Government that there was a real risk of a sperm supply crisis in Britain when the new regulations were debated two years ago. But they did not listen and the legislation went ahead. Now the Government should be delivering the promised high-profile advertising campaign to encourage more men to become donors, otherwise clinics such as Bourn Hall are going to have to keep sourcing sperm from abroad.

“The regulations should have been more sensible and said that wherever possible the identity of the donor should be revealed, but that it was not always a legal requirement.”

I remember interviewing the founders of Bourn Hall when its IVF success rate was only 20%. Since then, the success rate has soared to 45% and well over 1,000 healthy babies have been born as a result of IVF.

Bourn Hall’s CE Mike Macnamee explained the advantage of sourcing from Denmark:

“The Danish culture of openness has meant that more men are prepared to donate sperm. And it is collected and stored under the same high standards we would expect in the UK.

“Before we reached this agreement with the sperm bank in Denmark, infertile couples were facing a year-long wait.

“The time has gone when hard-up students used to be able to pop into a sperm bank and make a donation for a bit of beer money because, at £15 a time, it is just not worth their while any more. Changes in the anonymity rules also puts men off – those that donate now only do so out of a sense of altruism.”

I wonder how many young people born via sperm donors have tracked down their biological fathers and what the outcome was. I can understand why they might be curious, but is it possible to bond in these circumstances, did they both want to form a relationship? Couldn’t the new regulations have been less stringent? They do not seem to have been carefully thought through, bearing in mind the needs of all concerned, they are a nightmare for infertile couples who are suffering the most.

What do male bloggers think about helping out and becoming a sperm donor? Do the new regulations deter you?