Would you ask a friend for his sperm?

Women are saying they would choose a male friend to father their children if they had not met their ideal partner by a certain age, according to a recent study. Would you?

Independent research commissioned by Vitabiotics Pregnacare Conception (a vitamin supplement to support healthy conception) reveals that 56 per cent of women would look to a male friend as a sperm donor. Women aged 28-31 were most likely, at 64 per cent, to consider this option based on a survey of 3,103 single men and women aged 25-45.

Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopolous said: 'Reconstituted families, same sex families and single parent families are much more prevalent these days and rather than ascribing to the 'norm' it seems that women and men are more flexible with their definition of 'family'.'

Is it a woman's right to have a family at any cost or is this a case of natural instinct taking over from common sense? Have you considered what is best for the child?

Would you consider using a friend as a sperm donor or have you considered it and been put off by the legal ramifications of having a child with a friend?

For more on this follow the link: http://www.ivillage.co.uk/pregnancyandbaby/fertility/conception/articles/0,,4_716575,00.html

How to sell sperm...

The role of humour in sperm donor recruitment is almost as controversial as the subject matter.

Unlike either oocyte or embryo donation, sperm donation presents a massive PR problem - masturbation. At least since Onan came to a sticky end, masturbation (aka 'self-abuse') has both suffered censure and has provided a fertile source for low-grade humour.


Various tactics have been employed to attract men to donate sperm. In jurisdictions where there are no externally-imposed restrictions on the use of enticements, financial inducement seems to work reasonably well and major US sperm banks adopt what may best be described as a casual approach to recruitment.

The website of Xytex entices potential donors with the less than eye-catching slogan 'become a sperm donor with Xytex'. California Cryobank is a little more imaginative with 'Give the gift of family'.

The website of Cryos International, which claims to be 'the world's largest international network of sperm banks, offering our services to clinics and private customers in more than 60 countries', is the epitome of low-key, providing no obvious indication that it is seeking to recruit donors at all.

More brash recruitment efforts have come from elsewhere. In 2005, the Albury Reproductive Medicine clinic in New South Wales, Australia achieved international celebrity (or notoriety) following its advertisement for potential donors in a University of Calgary student magazine to whom it was offering a two-week, all-expenses paid trip down-under.

Recent sperm donor recruitment campaigns in the UK have tackled the masturbation 'problem' head on - most notably the National Gamete Donation Trust's (NGDT) 'Give a Toss' campaign (for non-UK readers of this commentary the campaign title cleverly - if not tastefully - played on the twin British slang meanings of 'toss'. First, as a euphemism for 'masturbation' - as in 'have a toss' or to 'toss off' - second, to refer to 'caring', as in the negative rendition of the term 'couldn't give a toss', meaning 'do not care').

For the full article follow this link:http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_59862.asp

Neurotic women 'more fertile than laid-back peers', say scientists

Neurotic women are more fertile and have more babies than their laid-back female counterparts, new research revealed yesterday.

The surprising study investigated the link between personality traits and fertility in populations with traditionally high birth rates.

Scientists found that women with higher levels of neuroticism and men who were rated as extrovert were likely to have a significantly higher number of children.

Women with above average neuroticism are characterised as being prone to anxiety, depression and moodiness.

Researchers also found a link between maternal personality traits and their offspring's physical condition.

Neurotic women were more likely to have malnourished children with decreased body mass index (BMI), suggesting their negative personality trait carries a cost for families.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1285152/Neurotic-women-fertile-laid-peers-say-scientists.html#ixzz0rlfnUmq8

Caroline was fathered by a sperm donor - so why does she bitterly resent the stranger who gave her life?

The act will have been brief, impersonal and utterly bereft of emotion - but 25 years on, the moment that Caroline Halstead was conceived is causing her lasting heartache.

For she was fathered by an anonymous sperm donor and, like a growing number conceived in this way, she has struggled to come to terms with the fact that she is the product of a scientific process rather than a loving union.

'I was conceived in a petri dish by artificial insemination at a Harley Street Clinic in London,' she says, describing the fertility treatment her mother sought when her husband was diagnosed as infertile.

'In my view, it is a horrible, clinical way to be conceived. All my life I've felt as if I'm only half a person.'

A Surrey housewife and mother who is expecting her second child in August, Caroline is haunted by the thought of her conception - and the fact that, unlike her children, she will never know or even meet her biological father.

Her feelings are far from isolated. A new study, the first of its kind into the effects of donor conception on offspring, reveals the complex and often troubling emotions adults born in this way can experience. They feel confusion, isolation and hurt, more acutely, even, than those who have been adopted.

Nearly half of those surveyed by the Commission on Parenthood's Future were disturbed that money was involved in their conception.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1289042/Caroline-fathered-sperm-donor--does-bitterly-resent-stranger-gave-life.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0rleRexW2

Fertility forum makes world a prettier place

Even ugly people deserve beautiful babies.

That’s the peculiar sentiment of a fertility introduction service launched last week by the founders of BeautifulPeople.com.

Remember them? They’re the guys who helped pretty people hook up online, unapologetically weeding out the aesthetically challenged so beautiful people could browse their own kind.

Now Greg Hodge and Robert Hintze are bringing the world one step closer to resembling the cast of a beer commercial or Calvin Klein ad.

Through Beautiful Baby, the site invites men and women to increase their odds of having a good-looking kid by introducing them to a beautiful person willing to donate an egg or sperm.

The virtual sperm bank and egg-donor program is open to anyone, even people who are less than comely, Hodge says. Members offer donor services in a web forum to anyone hoping to increase their chances of conceiving a beautiful baby.

BeautifulPeople.com launched in 2002 and boasts 600,000 members worldwide; hopefuls submit a photo and current members vote on he or she is worthy of inclusion. Hodge began the new project when he realized fertility clinics were advertising on the site.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.thestar.com/article/827713--fertility-forum-makes-world-a-prettier-place

Sperm holds key to healthy pregnancy

A man's sperm can contribute to a healthy pregnancy but also runs the risk of being rejected if not entirely compatible with his partner, new research has found.

University of Adelaide Professor Sarah Robertson said semen had special qualities that contributed to a healthy pregnancy, including helping to prepare the female body for nurturing the fetus.

But some sperm fail to communicate with the female reproductive tract and while a man can appear to be fertile, his semen can be rejected if the woman's body doesn't consider it compatible.

"We used to think that if a couple couldn't get pregnant, and the mans semen test was normal, the problem lay with the woman," Professor Robertson said in a statement on Wednesday.

"But it appears this is not always the case.

"We have discovered that sperm doesn't just fertilise an egg.

"It actually contains signalling molecules that are responsible for activating immune changes in women so they can accept a foreign substance in the body, in this case sperm, leading to conception and a healthy pregnancy.

"It's rather like a two-way dance."

For more on this story follow the link: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/sperm-holds-key-to-healthy-pregnancy-20100624-yzft.html

Pregnancy smoking test suggested

All pregnant women should be tested for smoking so that they can be given quitting advice if necessary, a health watchdog says.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said carbon monoxide tests should be carried out on every expectant mother.

If implemented, every woman would have the breath test at her first ante-natal appointment.

Midwives criticised the test, saying it could make the women feel "guilty".

NICE said the guidelines were not aimed at penalising smokers but were designed to help women and their families give up smoking during and after pregnancy.

"During pregnancy, smoking puts the health of the women and her unborn baby at great risk both in the short and long-term, and small children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer from respiratory problems," Professor Mike Kelly, Nice director of the centre of public health excellence, said.

"One of our recommendations is for midwives to encourage all pregnant women to have their carbon monoxide levels tested and discuss the results with them.

"This isn't to penalise them if they have been smoking, but instead will be a useful way to show women that both smoking and passive smoking can lead to having high levels of carbon monoxide in their systems."

The guidelines were welcomed by the Royal College of Midwives, but it urged "non-judgemental" support for women smokers.

For more info on this story follow the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10399242.stm