Money paid to sperm donors rises as UK faces shortage

One sperm donor, who the BBC is calling Joseph, said the £35 he received for each clinic trip did not compensate him “anywhere near enough” for his time and travel – but said his motivation was to help people.

“I’m a married gay man and we adopted our son so we didn’t have the normal route that most heterosexuals couples will have had into parenting,” he said.

“Going through the adoption process, you meet a lot of straight couples who have had fertility problems. So I wanted to help and give someone a chance to start a family, whether it’s someone with fertility problems, a lesbian couple or a single person.”

It is the first time compensation for sperm and egg donors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has risen since 2011.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which sets the amount of compensation, said the change was partly due to inflation being high in recent years, but it warned against donating sperm or eggs for the money.

“Choosing to become a donor is a complex decision, with implications for the donor and their wider family, the recipient, and any child born as a result,” a spokesperson for the fertility regulator said.

“Donors will go through rigorous medical screening and must be comfortable with the fact that any children born from their donation can contact them when they turn 18,” the HFEA spokesperson said.

Joseph said he was happy with the new compensation rate of £45 per clinic visit.

He added: “I think it’s difficult to strike a balance between compensating somebody and then paying too much and then making it a financial incentive.”

But there are groups who are concerned about the rise in compensation.

Helen Gibson, founder of Surrogacy Concern, a UK group which campaigns on issues relating to surrogacy and gamete donation said the organisation did not support “any payment for gametes”.

“Donations cannot be called altruistic while money is exchanged,” she said.

“Young people’s bodies are not resources to be mined for the benefit of older, wealthier couples and individuals. If there is a ‘shortage’ of donors coming forward, perhaps that reflects the fact that most people do not want their genetic children to be raised by others.”