Selection criteria

CRYOGONIA Sperm Bank collaborates exclusively with donors of Greek descent. The selected sperm donors are young adult males, aged mainly between 19 and 35 years, with full legal transaction capacity.

They are healthy individuals, whose personal and family history does not include transmissible, genetic or hereditary diseases.

They are usually university or college students or people who work in the private, public sector or free lance professionals. Most importantly, they are characterized by an attitude of social consciousness and a will to offer to society.

Sperm donation is an act of generosity and social contribution. Its goal is to provide a valuable gift to people who are unable to conceive: the creation of a family. The participation in a sperm donation program is voluntary and precludes any form of payment (article 8 law 3305/2005). Sperm donors are compensated solely for travel expenses and loss of income justified from their absence from work, in order to visit the Sperm Bank and perform the semen collection.

Requirements for partitipation:

  • Age 19-35 years
  • Good health
  • Personal and family history free of infectious, genetic or hereditary diseases
  • High risk groups excluded
  • Consistent participation and obligatory completion of the program
  • Residence in Athens for one year from the start of the program
  • Regular visits to CRYOGONIA for the collection of specimens, requiring sexual abstinence of 3-4 days
  • Exclusive collaboration with CRYOGONIA

Selection procedure of candidate donors

All candidate sperm donors are submitted to strict and detailed screening, including the following:

In an initial private meeting with the scientific directors of CRYOGONIA, the candidates are informed in detail about the steps of the procedure, the obligations and responsibilities they undertake, in case they are selected to participate in the sperm donation program. They answer questions regarding their personal and family profile, as well as the reasons that motivated them to express their interest to join the program.

The candidate donors are asked to complete an extended, multipage questionnaire, which requests details about their personal and family history, including social, medical, reproductive, sexual, psychological data. Furthermore, they submit their written, informed consent for their voluntary participation in the sperm donation program, declaring the truth and accuracy of the information they provide and also their commitment to collaborate exclusively with CRYOGONIA’s sperm donation program.

According to Greek law, in case a candidate donor is married, his wife’s written consent is also required.

The candidate donors are submitted to a physical examination by an urologist and an additional history taking, in order to evaluate their eligibility to join the program.

Based on history and specialized psychometric tests, a psychology specialist evaluates the candidates regarding the presence of indications of psychopathology and hereditary factors that would possibly reinforce the genetic predisposition for psychiatric disease.

The laboratory testing of the candidate donors includes multiple semen and blood tests:

Semen analyses:

  1. Conventional parameters (semen volume, sperm count, motility, morphology, vitality)
  2. Sperm function tests (acrosome reaction testing, sperm DNA integrity testing)
  3. Post thaw recovery testing and longevity evaluation
  4. Comprehensive microbiological screening

Blood tests:

  1. Blood group (ABO) / Rh
  2. Chromosomal analysis (karyotype)
  3. Genetic testing for Cystic Fibrosis heterozygosity (includes 90-98% of mutations traced in the Greek population)
  4. Genetic testing for α- and β- thalassaemia heterozygosity
  5. Genetic testing for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) heterozygosity
  6. Sexually transmitted diseases (HIV I/II, HbsAg, anti-HCV, anti-HTLV, CMV, HSVI/II, RPR)

Only the candidates whose semen quality exceeds the reference values of internationally recognized methodologies are selected for freezing. Due to the seasonal variations observed in semen, it is possible that a candidate donor is asked to deliver 2 or 3 control samples, in order to certify whether his semen quality meets the selection criteria.

There is also a possibility that neat semen of good quality might not be adequately recovered post thaw. Since sperm donation requires only frozen semen, the selection obviously includes only samples that produce good recovery of motile spermatozoa after thawing.

All laboratory tests are performed free of charge for the donors.

The procedure Step By Step:

1. Initial testing period requiring 3-5 visits which is completed in about 2 months, including:

  • interview
  • recording of personal history
  • psychological evaluation
  • semen analyses
  • blood tests for genetic and infectious diseases
  • clinical urological examination

2. Collection of samples intended for donation

3. Repeat testing every 3 months

4. Completion of the program with repeat testing 3 and 6 months after the final sample collection

If this is required for special reasons, the donor must refer to CRYGONIA for repeat tests or additional assessments.
All laboratory tests carried out during the program are FREE for the donor.

What are the advantages of being a Sperm Donor?

  • FREE selected semen and blood analyses during the participation in the program
  • FREE specialized genetic tests
  • FREE freezing and 5-year cryopreservation of one semen sample which is collected after the completion of the program and is intended for personal use by the donor
  • FINANCIAL COMPENSATION for expenses  related to the participation in the program
  • MORAL SATISFACTION for an act of substantial help and social contribution

Duration of assessment

The total duration of the initial screening is approximately 2 months.

The qualified candidates are accepted to initiate the Sperm Donation program and commence their visits to the Sperm Bank, in order to collect the designated number of semen samples.

The seminological and blood tests detecting the presence of sexually transmitted diseases are repeated every trimester and the frozen semen samples are released only after a minimum of 6 month quarantine, provided the test results are negative.

Legal facts

According to Greek law, the maximum number of children born after ART by use of donor semen is limited at ten (10) for each donor. The use of semen from the same donor is permitted additionally only from recipients who have already achieved birth of a child, in order to give birth to a biological sibling. In case the donor has fathered his own children, he is asked to report this to the Sperm Bank.

Repeated testing

Once the donor semen samples’ collection is completed, the donor is obliged to return to the Sperm Bank for repeated laboratory testing within 3 and 6 months’ time and/or in case this is necessary for special reasons. Any change of personal contact details, i.e. address, phone number, must be reported to the Sperm Bank by the donor.

Anonymity

Medical information regarding the sperm donor is kept with absolute secrecy and in codified form in the Sperm Bank, as well as in the national registry of donors and recipients, which must be kept by the National Authority for Medically Assisted Reproduction. Access to this file is allowed only to the child born by ART using donor sperm and solely for reasons relevant to his/her health. The identity of the donor shall not be disclosed to the recipient of the genetic material, neither will the identity of the recipient or the child or children born as a result of the attempted assisted reproduction method ever be disclosed to the donor of the genetic material.

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