Semen donors in New Zealand: their characteristics and attitudes

The characteristics and attitudes of 37 semen donors in six New Zealand AID programmes are reported. Donors were found to be highly educated and, as a result, in predominantly professional and technical fields. The major reason for being a donor was altruism--a desire to help infertile couples, although financial considerations were a factor for almost one-quarter of the respondents. The attitude of donors towards payment differs markedly from the attitudes of specialists providing AID services. Personal knowledge of infertile couples was found to be a factor leading one-quarter of the donors to offer their services. There is a wide variation in the number of times that some donors are asked to donate, with some specialists operating outside the guidelines produced by the Royal New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Donors are almost equally divided on the issue of the child's right to know of the nature of her/his conception. Almost one-quarter of donors would still donate if there was a possibility that they could be traced in the future and a further 30% were unsure. These findings challenge some of the traditionally accepted views about the need for donor anonymity. It was found that 39% of donors expressed an interest in knowing the outcome of their donations. The results of the study have implications for policy and practice issues associated with the psychosocial aspects of AID. One implication is that it seems important that the psychosocial needs of donors be considered and that programmes should be flexible in responding to the differing attitudes, expectations, and needs of donors.