Sperm donation is used to help infertile couples, same-sex couples, and solo women to conceive children where otherwise it would have been impossible. Private sperm banks operating throughout the UK provide tested sperm from screened donors to regulated fertility clinics at different price points. Donor profiles displayed on gamete bank websites are the principal way for potential recipients to search for available donors. Once a donor has been selected, the recipient can purchase gametes for delivery to their clinic of choice. When donor sperm is purchased through a regulated bank, a family slot (for a maximum of ten families in the UK) is filled under the regulatory framework put in place by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

However, when donor sperm is purchased in the UK, it is not always made obvious to the patient that some UK donations will be made available for exportation to assist families abroad, beyond the UK ten family limit. For many parents, the discovery of exportation is an unpleasant surprise. Emily, a solo mother by choice through sperm donation, talks about her shock when discovering the UK donor she used to conceive her child was suddenly available for exportation at London Sperm Bank (LSB): 'I recently visited the website and it said that my donor had reached UK numbers and was now open to export! I didn't expect that at all.' It is sometimes the case that when donors are 'maxed-out' in the UK, the phrase 'Export Only' unexpectedly appears on profiles.

For Emily, discovering that UK sperm banks will export UK sperm after the family limit is reached for some sperm donors raises many unsettling questions: 'Does this mean there now is no limit to potential families using this sperm? Is this the case for all sperm sold on their website? Or are just some donors exclusively sold in the UK? Shouldn't it say on the page [profile] that this is the case?' Emily explains that she chose a UK sperm bank over European and American options specifically because she thought only ten families could be assisted per donor. She says, 'It was important to me for the number of possible siblings to be limited.' Now Emily relates that she feels disappointed and upset that the possibility of sperm exportation was not made clearer.

Emily is not alone. Jenny, also a solo mother, had a similar experience: 'I was very shocked to see my child's donor now being available for export to make a further fifteen families abroad. It was my understanding that the maximum would be ten families, not a possible twenty-five.' The increase in legal donations that can be made per donor due to exporting gametes abroad means considerably more donor siblings for each donor-conceived child. It also means a much larger geographical donation pool, rendering it potentially difficult for donor-conceived people to connect with donor siblings upon turning eighteen, if they so wish to meet. Jenny reflects on this potential when she says, 'It feels like I have been duped over something that is extremely important to me and could affect my child in the future.'

Profiles for sperm donors created by the gamete banks detail a plethora of data, including the donor's ancestral heritage, educational background, geographical location, career history, hobbies and interests, a list of genetic and infectious screening tests, allergies, and blood type. In many cases profiles offer an essay written by the donor (a pen sketch) and an extended profile. Yet, despite the wealth of information offered to help recipients select their ideal donor, it is not noted clearly and directly on these profiles that the donor's sperm may be exported to other countries at a later date.

Exportation is often made available when the ten UK family slots are filled and where banks have a surplus of donor stock. Thinking that a child resulting from gamete donation may have genetic connections to up to nine additional families is extremely different to the possibility they may have genetic connections to up to twenty-four. Importantly, recipients should not find out that the UK donor they have used might be available for exportation through a profile update. Indeed, many recipients may not check and therefore will be unaware. Banks and clinics should ensure that the possibility that gametes might be exported abroad is more clearly signposted on websites and at the point of purchase.

On their 'About' page, LSB state that their donors 'produce a limited number of children (no more than ten families in the UK)' but do not mention directly that exportation to assist further families abroad is possible. While, technically, disclosure has occurred because details about exportation can be found in legal documents, in terms and conditions, and in the small print, reference to the fact that sperm from that donor may be exported for fertility treatment in the future should ideally be available on every applicable profile before selection by any patient, as well as on the pages discussing donor selection, the donation process, and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. Instead, the FAQ page simply says this about limits: 'According to UK law, sperm procured from UK based donors may be used to create up to ten families within the UK. As an HFEA-licensed sperm bank, we must ensure that this limit is not infringed'. Heather, a solo mother to a donor-conceived child, explains that her interaction with LSB customer service was confusing: 'I was really surprised to be told that they did export some donors' samples, as this was not at all clear from their website. Even more confusingly, they didn't yet know which donors would come under this plan.'

When choosing donor gametes, it must be clear to the recipient how many families their child might be genetically related to one day. The stress and anxiety patients like Emily and Jenny encountered can be avoided if exportation options are more clearly signposted on the website so it can be a factor in donor selection. This is what is good for patients and families. To help create a family is a huge responsibility and every effort should be made to ensure that the decisions made within this process are as fully informed as possible.