Sperm and Egg Bank: becoming a sperm or egg donor
The HUS Sperm and Egg Bank collects donated sperm and eggs to help involuntarily childless people fulfill their dream of having a child. The sperm and eggs donated to Sperm and Egg Bank are only used in Finnish public healthcare. Would you like to give the gift of a new life? Could you consider donating sperm or eggs?
Our donors need to have a Finnish social security number and access to public healthcare in Finland.
Donating sperm and eggs helps other people
Infertility is a rather common problem. About 15 percent of couples are not able to conceive after a year of trying. By providing fertility treatments such as insemination or in-vitro fertilization (IVF), we can help most childless couples using their own sperm and eggs.
However, we need sperm and egg donors to help patients whose production of reproductive cells is severely disturbed or completely missing. For example, a previous cancer treatment may damage reproductive organs and cause infertility. In women, an operation of the ovaries due to endometriosis or a tumour could lead to an early decline in the function of the ovaries. Donated sperm or eggs may also be needed when a person is a carrier of a serious hereditary disease or has a genetic abnormality causing infertility. In addition, female couples and single women need donated sperm for their fertility treatments.
Due to a limited amount of donated sperm and eggs, our patients need to wait to receive fertility treatment. More sperm donors in particular are needed. The more donors we have, the faster we can help our patients.
You could be a sperm donor, if
- You are healthy
- You are between the ages of 20 and 45
- You are a non-smoker
- Your sperm survives freezing adequately
- You or your closest family do not have any serious hereditary diseases
- Infection screening tests are negative as required in the Act on the Medical Use of Human Tissues *
- You are participating out of a genuine desire to help the childless
You could be an egg donor, if
- You are healthy
- You are between the ages of 22 and 35
- You are a non-smoker
- Your body mass index (BMI) is no more than 32
- You or your closest family do not have any serious hereditary diseases
- Infection screening tests are negative as required by the Act on the Medical Use of Human Tissues *
- You are participating out of a genuine desire to help the childless
Legislation
Finnish legislation allows the sperm or eggs of a single donor to be used for five families at most. The donor does not have any legal rights or responsibilities for the children born from fertility treatments using donated sperm or eggs.
As a donor, you must consent to having your personal information disclosed to the donor registry maintained by Valvira, The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health. The Finnish Act on Assisted Fertility Treatments states that only a person born from donor conception has, after turning 18, the right to find out the identity of the donor. However, this requires that the parents have informed the child about the donor conception.
* Finlex.fi: Laki hedelmöityshoidosta (Act on Assisted Fertility Treatments)
Contact us
HUS Sperm and Egg Bank
Tilkan Viuhka
Mannerheimintie 164 a
tel. 09 471 72607 egg donors
tel. 09 471 72606 sperm donors
(Mo–Fr 7:30–15:30)
sukusolupankki@hus.fi