Everyone has their own reasons and their own path as to why they will use donor sperm to help grow their family. However, one thing that they all share is that they desire using high quality sperm during their journey.
There are many ways this is determined, and for us, one of the best ways is to abide by a Family Limit Policy for all of our donors. This policy helps all parties involved, including the donors and the children. Here’s more information about our policy and what it means for you:
Our Family Limit Policy
A family limit policy is when a sperm bank caps the number of births that can occur per donor. Once that number is reached, the donor’s information is pulled from the catalog and the sperm will no longer be available. While different organizations may have different guidelines, it is ultimately up to the individual sperm banks to set and enforce the policy.
Although the industry doesn’t have set, standardized regulations, we have set an offspring limit that states that no single donor can contribute to more than thirty families. This is a regulation we stick to preserve the integrity and quality of our catalog.
Why Have a Family Limit Policy
There are a few reasons why we would choose to implement a family limit policy. First, recipients like the idea of exclusivity. They don’t like the thought that there could be multiple recipients of donor sperm, resulting in a lot of half siblings to those in their growing family.
So, it protects the families – but it also protects the children as they grow older. Setting a family limit helps prevent the emotional trauma associated with finding out they could have multiple siblings.
The family limit also protects the donor. In fact, this is also why we ensure that all donors understand what the implications are for their donation before proceeding. We have them undergo what we call “implication counseling”, where they are asked to give total buy-in to the process. In other words, this limit protects all parties involved.
No Industry Standards
Keep in mind that there are no full standards in the industry that determine what the family limit should be. However, we’ve found that family limits are important to the wellbeing of all parties involved. We have also found that setting a limit puts donors and the recipients at ease. It shows that we have your best interests at heart.
For growing families this is an important detail that can make all the difference. Please get in touch if you have any questions.