Sperm bank shuts as just seven men donate in two years
The first national sperm bank in country, which is based in Birmingham, is to stop taking donors two years after it opened.
The centre has had just seven donors since it was set up and now cannot afford to carry on recruitment.
It was launched in October 2014 with the aid of a £77,000 Government grant and has been run by the National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT) charity as well as the Birmingham's Women's Hospital – where it was located.
It was hoped it would break even after the first year but with the donor process taking up to 18 months the centre struggled to generate income in the following year.
A spokesperson for Birmingham Women's Hospital's Fertility Centre said: "We fully understand and support the decision made by NGDT. We have always managed any donations that have come through the National Sperm Bank and the donations we have received to date will be made available, as normal, to clinics across the UK. We are very lucky here to also have our own successful sperm bank, which we will continue recruiting to."
The Department of Health declared that the move will have 'no impact' on people trying to access donation services.
In a statement, the Department of Health said: "We gave a one-off start-up grant to help set up the National Sperm Bank, and while the number of donations have not been sufficient to support it continuing to seek new donors, this will have no impact on people being able to access safe egg and sperm donation services."
Sperm donors are sought to help men who may be infertile for a range of reasons including, wartime injuries, genetic conditions, accidents, cancer treatments, inherited disorders or poor sperm production.
Donors were paid £35 for each deposit. Potential candidates would be between 18 and 40.
Those who came forward were subject to a telephone questionnaire in the first instance before a screening appointment was arranged.
During the first meeting the process would be fully explained before people would have to fill in another questionnaire and provide a semen sample for analysis before it was frozen. The clinic would then contact GP for medical history.
Donors were then given a second appointment with a counsellor to discuss the implications. Blood and urine samples would also take place as well as a physical examination. After that appointments would be made for people to make donations which would typically involved 10 to 15 visits.
