Britain’s first national sperm bank has opened at Birmingham Women’s Hospital with a mission to make it easier for couples and single parents seeking donor sperm.
According to the Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, the new centre will meet all donor sperm requirements across Britain, providing more options for more people than ever before.
The centre’s director, Dr Sue Avery, told the BBC: ” For us, this is about building families and the important thing is the quality of parenting.
She continued to say that her centre wants to “make sure people really understand what they are taking on.”
This means giving greater consideration to the needs of all people who want to build families in order to help them.
For the first time people from a variety of races and ethnic minorities will be able to choose from a range of appropriate donors.
In the past donor seekers have had few options and many challenges to face, with bad administration, waiting lists and poorly regulated sperm banks adding to the confusion. As well as these challenges, donor seekers have had to deal with a fall in the number of donors and ever increasing demand for donor sperm.
Dr Avery believes that the changes are positive, resulting in a larger proportion of donations coming from older, family-oriented, professional men who understand the issues at hand and want to help.