What Disqualifies Your From Being a Sperm Donor?: Exploring Sperm Donor Disqualifiers

Do you qualify to donate your sperm? For most sperm banks, there is generally only a 4-5% acceptance rate (those that will become active donors). This is the result of multiple factors such as your age, living situation, sperm health, mental health, and physical health, that can all pre-determine if you are a qualifying candidate. We always recommend applying if you’re unsure if you qualify by the end of this blog. So, what disqualifies you from being a sperm donor?

Join us as we run through the common (and uncommon) reasons someone may be deemed unqualified to donate their sperm at The World Egg and Sperm Bank.

What Disqualifies You from Being a Sperm Donor?

What disqualifies you from being a sperm donor is the main question we hear often from aspiring applicants. Sperm donors can either be denied during the application process, or later in the medical screening process. Take our quick quiz to test your eligibility and see how you stack up to our qualifications before taking any additional steps!

Are You Between the ages of 18-39?

Sperm donors must be within the legal age of consent (18), but younger than 39, as the probability of conception once men reach their 40’s significantly decreases.

Do you live in Arizona?

With all sperm banks, donors must live within the state they are donating, as these programs require regular visits and donations, so local candidates that can commute are a must!

Do you have reliable transportation to our facility?

Sperm donors must have reliable transportation, either with your own vehicle, a friends, or public transportation. Our facility is located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Are you within driving distance of our facility?

While some aspiring donors live in the State of Arizona, sperm donors must live within reasonable distance to our facility. This mainly depends on the distance you’re willing to travel on a weekly basis. Regardless, there should be at least one sperm bank within a short distance of your home, whether that is our facility or another!

Can you commit to donating at least once a week?

Donating sperm is not a one and done type of journey! Typically, after your test sample and all screening has been completed, sperm donors will typically be in the program, actively donating, for a couple of months, depending on their frequency per week. We require you to be available to donate at least once per week. However, we do understand schedules change and provide flexibility if some weeks are unavailable!

Are you free of any STD’S or STI’s?

All donors must be thoroughly screened for any possible sexually transmitted infections or diseases that could be present, including HIV, Hepatitis, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea, and others.

Do you have issues with substance abuse?

A donor’s personal lifestyle and health habits must always be taken into consideration, including whether there is a strong presence of substance abuse. This can lead to disqualification, depending on the exact circumstances.

Are you willing to abstain from sexual activity before each donation?

Sperm donors must abstain from any sexual activity (even masturbation) for 2-5 days. Higher sperm count donors may only need to abstain for 2 days, while lower sperm count donors may need to wait up to 5 days.

Have you engaged in sexual activity with a man in the last two years?

Unfortunately, due to regulations by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), men who have had sex with another man in the last 5 years are automatically unqualified to donate sperm. However, the status of this regulation may change in the coming year.

Are you mentally ready and well enough to commit to this process?

Each donor will undergo psychological screening from a licensed psychologist, to determine if this is a journey they are ready to embark on. However, we always encourage donors to ask themselves some important questions first:

• What are my reasons for donating sperm?
• Do I have not only the time, but the mental capacity and stamina to join a program like this?
• Do I feel ready to engage in a selfless endeavor?
• Where is my mental state at this moment? Could it change later?

Are you at a healthy weight in terms of BMI?

Many aspects of a donor’s overall health can impact the health and quality of their sperm. So, sperm donors must be within a certain Body Mass Index, to ensure quality sperm that will pass an initial test sample, and hopefully result in a pregnancy.

Do you have any serious, inheritable mental or physical conditions?

Aside from psychological screening, sperm donors will also undergo genetic screening through multiple blood tests. If in your genetic review, our genetic counselor finds any serious, physical or mental, genetic health conditions that could potentially be passed to the future child, you would be disqualified at that point.

Do you have healthy sperm?

Not all sperm is the same! Being within our age range of fertile health, does not guarantee that your fertility is up to a bank’s standards. Before you go through any genetic or psychological testing, you will visit our facility for a test sample. This will give you a glimpse of what a normal donation appointment would look like. Our andrologists will test your sperm for multiple factors, to determine if your sperm meets our standards of quality and quantity. Donors could be denied if there sperm count is too low, has low motility (movement), or an abnormal tail or head shape.

Have you ever donated to another sperm bank?

A sperm donor cannot finish a donor program at one sperm bank and start a whole new one at another. If you have already donated your sperm at another bank, no matter the location, this would disqualify you from donating at The World Egg and Sperm Bank. These regulations are to ensure that we follow family limits, set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

See If You Qualify by Applying Online!

Now that we’ve answered the question, “What disqualifies you from being a sperm donor?”, apply with us online! If you read through all of the sperm donation disqualifiers and feel as though you may be a great candidate, we encourage you to take some time to fill out our application!

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