Last week saw the launch of a new campaign to recruit more egg and sperm donors in the UK. Here, Laura Witjens, egg donor and chair of the National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT) explains why the appeal is needed:
The Department of Health's 'Give Life Give Hope' campaign is all about increasing public awareness around egg and sperm donation and it's started to do its job. Since the campaign launch we've seen an influx in calls to our helpline at the NGDT from men and women who are interested in finding out more about donating egg and sperm.
This campaign fulfils several needs. We need to inform men and women of the problem before we can expect the solution to be forthcoming. One in seven couples have fertility problems, a statistic that is shocking and largely unknown. 'Give Life Give Hope' will help us to put the issue of fertility on people's agenda; people need to understand the problem before they can help to find a solution and that's exactly what the campaign is designed to do.
'Give Life Give Hope' will also help to address people's concerns over donating eggs or sperm after 1 April 2005 when donors will no longer be able to remain anonymous. As now, donors will have no financial, legal or social responsibility for a donor-conceived child (or adult). The parents of a child are those who care for him or her everyday, not those who see an opportunity to help an otherwise childless couple to build a family through a donation.
The campaign is broad in scope and is designed to appeal to an older age profile (28-40 for men and 28-35 for women). We don't want to exclude anybody from within these age groups from contacting the NGDT either via the helpline or website to find out more. We have found that a lot of our donors are parents themselves and are driven by a feeling of sheer altruism to help otherwise childless couples to become parents.
Donating is no longer the preserve of students who are in it to make some extra cash. In fact, if it's money that donors have in mind, they're in the wrong place! But the issue of recompense is very much front of mind in terms of recognising the commitment of donors who have given up their free time and put themselves to some considerable inconvenience. That's my view, anyway, and I look forward to hearing the outcome of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's SEED (sperm, egg and embryo donation) review.
So far we have seen a very encouraging response to the campaign, which I hope will continue. More people than ever are starting to become aware of the value of egg and sperm donation - a really great gift. If you would like to find out more about the NGDT's work, or are interested in donating sperm or eggs, telephone the confidential helpline number 0845 226 9193 or email info@ngdt.co.uk.
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