Poorer lesbians forced to use internet sperm donors
August 20th, 2010
Lesbians wishing to become mothers who cannot pay for expensive fertility treatment are increasingly turning to the internet to find sperm donors and may therefore miss out on protection from the law, according to a new study.
Research from the University of Manchester found that the cost of fertility treatment in clinics excludes many lesbians wishing to conceive. One cycle of IVF treatment can cost up to £8000.
Women who cannot pay the clinic costs are more likely to ask friends to donate sperm or use the internet to find donors. However, by choosing a donor in this way women are more vulnerable to conflicts about custody and access after the birth.
Couples wealthy enough to use fertility clinics are protected by law from donors who may later demand access to the child.
Dr Petra Nordqvist from The University of Manchester carried out a series of 25 interviews with couples over one year for her research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council – the largest group yet studied.
“No data is available to show how common it is for them to have children using donor conception following changes in the law - and other factors - but attitudes have shifted drastically making it far easier,” said Dr Nordqvist. ”
Even five years ago, many couples were turned away from clinics because they were lesbians. But even though it is now easier in some respects, the huge cost of fertility treatment in clinics excludes many lesbians.
The Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act 2008 replaced the reference to ‘the need for a father’ with ‘the need for supportive parenting’ - highlighting the role of all parents including lesbians.
“Like most families, lesbians base their choice of donor on things like ethnicity, family resemblances, facial characteristics and levels of education,” added Dr Nordqvist.
“But couples who cannot afford clinical treatment sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to anonymise the process – for example not exchanging surnames and addresses with a donor found on an internet chatroom.”
The research also revealed how, like heterosexual families, lesbian couples crave being conventional, and also that they go to extraordinary lengths to protect their children from stigma.
Choosing a reputable ‘sperm donor website’
Erika Tranfield ∼ December 30th, 2010 11:01 pmWhen choosing to use a sperm donor website to find a donor or co-parent it is important to ensure that they are providing the necessary health screening and legal advice and directing users to use regulated fertility clinics for treatment.
Pride Angel is one of the leading worldwide connection sites, with over 4,500 members, primarily aimed at the gay and lesbian community. They are dedicated to providing quality information regarding health screening and fertility law in a user-friendly way.
I would like to introduce myself my name is Erika I am the co-founder and Director of Pride Angel ’all our profiles are continually screening to ensure users are not offering ‘natural insemination’ or requesting an ‘anonymous’ donor. Nor is payment for donations allowed to be offered or requested.’
‘If any donor attempts to contact more than 10 different recipients, an email is automatically sent, highlighting the ‘no more than 10 lives births law within the UK’.
‘We are committed to providing a user friendly service, while ensuring that we do everything within our power to make it a safer environment for our members’. ‘We also offer email support for users requiring help and further information.’
‘Users should never consider using a donor who offers natural insemination, even if they offer artificial insemination as well. The health risks of such ‘promiscuous’ donors is too great’.
‘Unfortunately many other connection services do not monitor profiles and restrict messages in the way that we do at Pride Angel. This means that many of the ‘prolific donors’ tend to use other sites which do not monitor them as closely’. ‘These factors are really important to consider when choosing a connection service to find a known donor or co-parent’.
‘We have had so many people thank us for the service we provide, without which co-parenting arrangements would not happen and many lesbian couples and gay men would not have the chance to experience the joys of parenthood’.
For more information regarding finding a co-parent, health screening, home insemination and fertility law visit and register for FREE at http://www.prideangel.com