Sperm donor matching app sidesteps UK regulation

A new app which allows sperm donors to seek private arrangements with intended parents, bypassing donor regulations, has become available in the UK.

The app, Y Factor, was launched and funded by the founder of Denmark-based Cryos International, which claims to be the world's largest sperm and egg bank and was involved in 'The Man with 1000 Kids' story (see BioNews 1188 and 1257). Through the app, sperm donors and people seeking donors can enter private arrangements, which are not regulated by existing UK fertility laws. The app allows donors to select their preferred method of insemination and the option to receive payment. Most notably, the app does not place limits on the number of children each donor can father.

'In the UK, many groups are effectively excluded from the official system due to strict eligibility criteria and limited NHS access and coverage,' Sofie Hafström Nielsen, chief executive of Y factor said. 'For them, it's not finding a loophole to bypass regulation, it's often the only possible path.'

In UK law, the number of families created using one sperm donor is limited to ten. Donors are screened for infections and genetic conditions and cannot receive payment beyond a fixed £45 compensation (see BioNews 1232). Since 2005, donor-conceived people can access information about their donor upon turning 18.

These regulations apply to donation via licensed clinics, however private arrangements such as those facilitated by Y Factor are not subject to the same safeguards. For example, since the app does not require donors to undergo healthcare testing before donating their sperm, there is a possibility of passing down genetic conditions. Furthermore, the app's lack of a limit for the number of children per donor may expose donor-conceived children to the risk of unknowingly having many half-siblings.

Professor Tim Child, a board member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and associate professor of reproductive medicine at Oxford pointed out that 'apps like this cut corners and expose people to serious medical, legal and emotional risks.'

The rise in international gamete donation, including via large cryobanks, has prompted wider concerns about prolific donors and calls for cross-border regulation (see BioNews 1240 and 1283).

Unregulated donation also raises legal issues. When seeking arrangements through the clinic, sperm donors hold no legal parenthood rights. However, as private arrangements are unregulated and thus unenforceable, sperm donors can potentially seek parentage.

Natalie Sutherland, fertility lawyer and PET (Progress Educational Trust) trustee, said that the app might grant an 'air of legitimacy' to private donation arrangements, without explaining that certain choices come with certain legal consequences'. Sutherland has previously written on the legal risks of unregulated donation (see BioNews 1281).

She added that users and founders of the app could be at risk of investigation by the HFEA, due to the option to pay for donations.