Legal Issues for Sperm Donors

According to the American Pregnancy Association website, approximately one in eight couples use sperm donation alongside fertility treatments in an attempt to achieve a pregnancy.

Types

• Sperm donors can be either known and unknown. The Shared Journey website reports that known sperm donors are often close friends or relatives of a couple attempting to become pregnant who feel more comfortable using someone they know as a donor. Unknown sperm donors provide sperm at a sperm bank and their identity is unknown to the recipient.

Known Donor

• According to the Shared Journey website, the legal issues involved in being a known sperm donor are more complex than those surrounding an unknown donor. Known sperm donors can attempt to claim parental rights. Legal paperwork is required for a known sperm donor to relinquish parental rights.

Unknown Donor

• The American Pregnancy Association explains that when a donation of sperm is made to a sperm bank, the donor signs legal paperwork relinquishing any parental rights to a child, with their identity remaining unknown. In some states the identity of the donor can be revealed to a child after their 18th birthday.