Androlog Mail:
In response to Dr. Drobnis questions regarding banking sperm from a
designated, or known donor: We treat the "known" or "directed" donor in
exactly the same way as an anonymous donor, the only difference being that
the recipient knows the identity of the donor-most often a brother/relative
of her husband/partner. The known donor, then, would be tested in the same
manner as an unknown donor, including genetic testing (for CF, or certain
diseases more prominent in ethnic groups-TaySach's, thallassemia, etc). The
sperm would also be quarantined for a minimum of 6 months, and the donor
retested prior to release of the specimens. When the known donor donates,
he signs an appropriate consent form. Basically, he is donating the sperm,
and no longer "owns" it. He cannot decide to have the sperm destroyed. If
the known donor is married, we do not require that the wife also sign a
consent. Since I meet with all donors, I discuss his partner's consent, to
make sure this will not affect their relationship. If the designated donor
dies, he still does not own the sperm. Basically, it has become the
property of the original recipient via the sperm bank. The wife cannot
decide to have the specimens destroyed. (Much the same as if an anonymous
donor should die). The recipient can order the sperm to be shipped to
another facility. Again, when the semen is donated, the donor relinquishes
any rights at that time to the sperm bank and recipient. Therefore, the
semen can be shipped to another facility. If the recipient decides to have
the semen destroyed without the known donor's consent (because she does not
want to pay storage fees), we will destroy the specimens. However, we can
reserve the right to contact the original known donor to see if he would
want to keep the specimens in storage. If he does not want the specimens,
they would be destroyed. The recipient can choose to donate the sperm to
the facility for research purposes without the consent of the donor.
However, we would not use the specimens in our general inventory. Often
such known donors are older than our cutoff for anonymous donors.
Occasionally, known donors may have a family history (obviously the same as
for the recipient's husband) that would have precluded him from being an
anonymous donor. Therefore, we would not use such specimens for another
recipient, unless that recipient is known to the donor and recipient -
special circumstances may apply here. We would use the specimens for
research. Hope this helps. We are certainly entering into a very
controversial and ethically charged area, both with this topic and the many
others that face the andrologist. I would hope to see in the near future,
further discussion, seminars, courses delving into the ethics and legal
issues surrounding the field of clinical andrology. This area goes beyond
the ethics of IVF alone.
Regards, Grace Centola, Ph.D., H.C.L.D.
Grace M. Centola, Ph.D., H.C.L.D.
Rochester Regional Cryobank and Andrology Laboratory
University of Rochester Medical Center
601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 668
Rochester, New York 14642
716-275-2491 fax: 716-756-5861
grace_centola@urmc.rochester.edu
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