Families with History of Genetic Disease

Considerations During Sperm Donor Selection Process

For families with a history of genetic diseases, our Genetic Counselor has prepared guidelines for the sperm donor selection process.

If you have a family history of a genetic issue, we would gladly address these issues with you as you go through the donor selection process.

I am a carrier of a genetic disease

One of the most common situations we encounter is a client who has found out she is a carrier for a genetic disease during her routine prenatal screening. If it is one of the diseases we routinely perform on our donors, you will know he has tested negative. You will also see this listed on his free medical profile.

If you are a carrier for a disease we have not tested our donors for, we may be able to help you. Please contact us and ask to speak to the genetic counselor who can work with you. Typically we request you select several donors from our list so we can see which one might be available for testing. Once the cost of the testing is paid by the client, we will proceed to coordinate the testing.

I have a child with medical issues

If you have a child with a genetic disease and want to consider donor sperm in a future pregnancy in order to reduce your risk, we want to help you. Please contact us and our genetic counselor will help you work through the details.

If you have a child conceived by donor sperm and have questions about your child’s health or information you want to share with us, we are available to address your concerns. Please ask to speak to our genetic counselor. We also have a policy on donor and offspring medical evaluations that might helpful.

I want to know if the donor I am interested in has any reported medical issues in his offspring

Donors currently listed on our donor search do not, to the best of our knowledge, have risk factors that place any of his offspring at increased risk for birth defects or serious hereditary issues. You are still welcome to contact us about a specific donor if you wish. If the birth of one child with a medical issue is determined to increase the risk to other offspring for a birth defect or serious medical concern, we will restrict the donor and no longer make his units available on the donor search.