Ethics and Society: Attitudes and motives of semen donors and non-donors

This study surveyed the views of three groups of men in relation to the situation of semen donation. In all, 97 childless student semen donors, 56 childless non-donor students and 44 mature non-donor fathers completed a questionnaire designed to explore possible motives for donating semen and preferences for involvement with recipients and offspring. Results showed the three groups could be discriminated with respect to their views about motivation and involvement in a number of ways. The major findings were: (i) relatively moire donors than non-donors endorsed the importance of financial incentives for donating; (ii) non-donors, who were also fathers, favoured involvement with recipients and offspring more often than did non-fathers (donors and non-donor students); (iii) all groups expressed the importance of confidentiality and guaranteed anonymity. These results are discussed in relation to strategies for donor recruitment.