Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Mouse Round Spermatid Injection
Published on: January 26, 2024
Gamete donors' motivation in a Swedish national sample: is there any ambivalence? A descriptive study
Agneta Skoog Svanberg1, Claudia Lampic, Ann-Louise Gejervall
1Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. agneta.skoog_svanberg@kbh.uu.se
Objective:
To study donors' motivation and ambivalence before donation of gametes.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Seven Swedish university hospital clinics. Sample. Of the 220 eligible oocyte donors and 156 eligible sperm donors who were approached, 181 (82%) oocyte donors and 119 (76%) sperm donors agreed to participate.
Methods:
Gamete donors completed a questionnaire in the clinic prior to the donation.
Main Outcome Measures:
Motives and ambivalence towards donation.
Results:
In general, gamete donors donated for altruistic reasons (95%). A greater percentage of oocyte than sperm donors had a personal experience of biological children, which motivated them to donate (65 vs. 32%). A greater percentage of sperm donors compared with oocyte donors were curious about their own fertility (24 vs. 9%), and they also believed that they were contributing what they regarded as their own good genes to other couples (45 vs. 20%). Prior to donation, potential sperm donors were more ambivalent towards donating than were oocyte donors (39 and 21%, p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
The motives to donate gametes are mainly altruistic. We conclude that men and women differ in their view towards donating gametes. Sperm donors had a higher degree of ambivalent feelings towards donation than oocyte donors.
Related Concept Videos
Infertility in Males
Spermatogenesis
Egoism and Altruism
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...
Genetic Variation
Genes exist in different versions called alleles, which...
Factors Influencing Attraction IV: Reciprocity

