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How to become a donor

Do you wish to become a sperm donor?

If you do and you live near the urban area of any of the IVI centres with a donor sperm bank ( IVI Valencia, IVI Madrid, IVI Seville, IVI Murcia, IVI Bilbao and IVI Mexico ), you can contact us by visiting the centre or calling to make an appointment.

Even so, a personal interview is required before the first tests can be organised. Here is some more information.

What are the requirements to be a sperm donor?

To donate sperm to IVI, you must:

• Be between 18 and 35 years of age.
• By mentally and physically healthy.
• Neither you nor your direct relatives should suffer from serious genetic disorders or hereditary diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy or hypertension.
• Not be a carrier of or infected by:
  • Chlamydia.
  • Cytomegalovirus antibodies (CMV IgG and IgM)*.
  • Gonorrhoea.
  • Hepatitis B antigen.
  • Hepatitis C.
  • HIV 1 and 2 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus Types 1 and 2) p24 antigen and antibodies.
  • Syphilis (RPR test).
  • Cytomegalovirus.
• You should not suffer from bacterial infections detectable in urine and sperm cultures.
• The quality of your sperm must be approximately 5 times the normal level and it has to suitably withstand the freezing and thawing process.

Questions frequently asked by donors

If I become a donor, will I need some kind of treatment?

Donors will never need to take pharmacological treatment unless a treatable infection is detected which it would be advisable to treat for the sake of their own health.

How often would I have to go to the clinic?

Donors visit the centre once a week for a varied period of time, usually 7-8 months, although holidays are respected and also when it is impossible to attend an appointment.

Will I or anyone else be able to discover the destination of my samples?

The Law forbids revealing the destination or origin of the samples. The process is completely anonymous for both the donor and the woman receiving them.

How long is each appointment at the clinic?

We perform all sperm tests in approximately 15 minutes (except the first few times, when we explain how the programme works and you need to fill in the respective consent forms).

When would I cease to be a donor?

When you voluntarily decide to do so or in the following circumstances:

• When the sperm quality of repeated samples does not permit freezing or when the survival rate after freezing is not acceptable.
• When abnormal values are detected in regular tests.
• When the number of pregnancies recommended by law have been achieved and the bank does not wish to use the sperm for diagnostic tests.

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