Online Sperm Donation: Four-year study details the urgent need for better education, safety, support and legal protections

The Online Sperm Donation Project is a four-year, multidisciplinary, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded research project led by LBU academic Rhys Turner-Moore, with the full research team spanning five organisations, that explores the evolving experiences of people who go online to seek or donate sperm, and those navigating alternative routes to conception and co-parenting. 

The study reveals that despite its increasing use and visibility, online sperm donation remains poorly understood. Participants in the research highlighted that public and professional discussions often focus on risk, rather than people’s diverse experiences and needs. As the largest study into online sperm donation (OSD) to date, the newly released findings provide evidence-based recommendations:

Better information and support are urgently needed

Online sperm donation is an established route to family formation, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community, solo parents and those who face barriers to accessing fertility clinics or prefer a non-clinical route to conception.

Prior research found that there are currently 52 English-speaking online sperm donation platforms worldwide, with more than 343,000 users. 

Despite its established presence, the Online Sperm Donation Project found that there is no trusted, independent guidance on how to navigate OSD and there are few support communities.  Recipients and donors frequently learn how the process of online sperm donation works through ‘trial and error’, relying on fragmented information that is created or shared by other users. People involved in online sperm donation can struggle to access reliable, independent information about legal parenthood, fertility, conception, pre-conception health and sexual health screening.

The new research recommends that online platform owners improve onboarding processes and work with academics, clinicians and third-sector organisations to develop free, accessible and evidence-based information. It also calls for peer-led support communities for recipients, donors and co-parents, helping people access support and guidance from others with relevant experiences.

Safety must be a shared responsibility

The research identifies challenges in online sperm donation including misinformation, unwanted sexual behaviour, pressure and coercion. It also found that unequal power dynamics can make it harder for recipients to negotiate arrangements, question a donor's behaviour or refuse unwanted situations.

People seeking to conceive may feel under pressure because of limited donor availability, the urgency of their family-building plans or a donor's greater experience of online donation. As a result, recipients can be left carrying much of the responsibility for identifying warning signs and managing risks themselves.

The project calls for safety to become a shared responsibility involving policymakers, online platforms, healthcare commissioners and third-sector organisations, and informed by research.

The researchers also recognise that online donation platforms are often run by people with personal experience of the process, rather than organisations with substantial resources. Platform owners may need financial investment, practical support and opportunities to work with regulators and other organisations to implement effective safeguards.

Fertility treatment access and family law need to catch up

The findings highlight how barriers to clinical fertility treatment can limit people's choices on how they conceive.

Restrictive NHS eligibility criteria, differences in funding between regions and the high cost of private treatment can leave people with few affordable alternatives. Same-sex couples and solo women can particularly face barriers to accessing fertility treatment.

The project recommends improving equitable access to NHS-funded fertility treatment so that people have a genuine choice between clinical and non-clinical routes to conception.

The research also identifies gaps in the oversight of donations in online sperm donation. Donors vary in how many families they help to create, and some donate both online and through sperm banks or fertility clinics. There are currently no formal mechanisms for systematically monitoring online donation activity, the number of donor-conceived children or related donor information, and so the researchers recommend exploring the potential for a voluntary registry.

Legal parenthood is another area of concern. Current frameworks can leave people involved in conception arrangements outside fertility clinics uncertain about their legal rights and responsibilities. The law means that some donors are legal parents, while some non-gestational partners are not. The law also limits legal parenthood to two people, even where more than two adults intend to share the responsibility of raising a child.

The project calls for a review of the legal framework governing parenthood in conception arrangements outside fertility clinics, taking account of the needs and experiences of contemporary families.

Turning research into action

The project’s recent celebratory showcase, New Ways of Creating Families, presented the findings through a collection of comic stories and a short film to attendees including the research team; creatives involved in the project; research participants and their families; professionals working in fertility, family-making and allied fields; and members of the public. 

Dr Rhys Turner-Moore, Professor in Psychology at Leeds Beckett University and lead researcher on the project says: “Our book of eight comic stories and short film were made to increase public and professional understanding of online sperm donation.

“These resources draw on our research interviews with people who are seeking or donating sperm online, their partners, and people looking online for someone to conceive and co-parent with, to illustrate the diverse journeys, motivations and experiences of people involved in online sperm donation. 

“The comic stories and film highlight some of the highs and the lows of this route to family-making, but also the nuanced and sometimes complex spaces in between, revealing it to be a space that has challenges, uncertainty and disappointment, but also innovation, hope, connection and joy.” 

The team have distributed the book of comic stories, film and stakeholder briefing to professional organisations and bodies with a view to increasing understanding of online sperm donation and actioning the project’s recommendations. After the success of the project’s celebratory showcase, the team are currently looking for further opportunities to share the comics stories and film with the wider public to broaden public understanding and conversations about this often-misunderstood route to conception.

Anastasia, a research participant with lived experience of online sperm donation said, “having lived through some of the challenges highlighted in the comics, I know how isolating, confusing, and overwhelming the beginning of the journey can feel. 

“Looking back, I only wish that a resource like this existed when I was at the start of my own experience. What makes this project so valuable is that it is rooted in the real experiences of all different types of families.” 

David Carless, Academic Team Member and Film Producer adds, “as researchers, we have been granted an opportunity to learn directly from participants,  recipients, donors and partners, about the realities of online sperm donation. Our film passes this learning on by tracing the experiences of one recipient and one donor. It foregrounds the personal consequences of entering the world of online sperm donation, the highs and lows, the joys and sorrows.

"I hope anyone with an interest in online sperm donation will watch this 20-minute film to become better informed of, and to feel for themselves, the challenges and possibilities afforded through this new way of creating families.” 

Sources are available for use on the Online Sperm Donation Project website.