Do All Sperm Banks Classify Gay Men as High Risk for HIV?
Answered by Liz Coolidge, coordinator of the LGBT Family and Parenting Services at Fenway Community Health in Boston. Sept. 23, 2002
Gay men and sperm banks
Q: Dear Liz,
My partner and I are planning to have a baby. We have a gay male friend who is willing to donate, but the sperm bank to which I was referred in New York will not accept him as a client because they classify gay men as a "high-risk HIV group." Do all sperm banks have this regulation? Do you have any suggestions on where else we can go?
Thank you in advance for your answer.
Elaine
A: Dear Elaine,
Not all sperm banks have this exclusion, although most do, because it is the standard recommended by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the American Association of Tissue Banks and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can check banks' websites to see their requirements for directed, or private, donation. The only bank of which I am aware that does not exclude men based on the "high-risk HIV group" standard is the Rainbow Flag Sperm Bank in California.
Many women whose donor is a gay man choose to inseminate with his fresh sperm, instead of freezing it. It is important to assess his sexual practices for risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and to feel comfortable with the level of risk that you would be undertaking. You would need to ask some potentially awkward questions about his practices and any of his partners' practices as well.
Inseminating with fresh sperm is not as safe as using frozen sperm. While a man may test negative on all sexually transmitted disease tests, the semen sample he gives you is only as safe as his last sexual encounter. However, many women, after detailed and honest conversations about lifestyle and sexual practices, feel safe using fresh sperm, because it is not a man's sexual orientation that puts him at risk for STDs; it is his practices.
Sincerely,
Liz Coolidge
Coolidge is coordinator of the LGBT Family and Parenting Services at Fenway Community Health in Boston.
Sept. 23, 2002