Are the genes of Manchester United football fans in a different league to those of Manchester City fans? It’s a pertinent question because the NHS is out to recruit both groups as sperm donors.
The government is starting a pilot scheme in Manchester this month for a national sperm bank — and will target sports fans as potential donors. Fertility experts at St Mary’s hospital have been given funds to run the pilot scheme, which may lead to a national programme along the lines of the blood donation service.
Daniel Brison, professor of clinical embryology at the hospital’s department of reproductive medicine, said sporting events were a good place to find men who might be inclined to donate sperm.
“Approaching sports fans at football and cricket matches in Manchester is a way of accessing large numbers of men,” he said. “We might also get support from the sports clubs themselves. The idea is to make it easier to donate.”
The government has been keen to reverse a drop in sperm donations that has led fertility clinics to buy supplies from countries such as Denmark, prompting suggestions that a generation of blonde, blue-eyed British Vikings could be the result.
The number of sperm donors in the UK decreased after the government changed the law in 2005 to allow children born from donated gametes to learn the identity of their biological parents when they reach 18. Although the number of donors is now increasing, many place restrictions on its use — naming specific women who can use it, for example — which means fewer women are able to receive fertility treatment through anonymous donors.
Failings in the system have led some desperate couples to advertise for sperm donations on the internet. But the NHS believes a national service, which could courier sperm to clinics around the country, would boost stocks.
The move follows a recommendation from the British Fertility Society that a national programme should be funded by the Department of Health. A spokeswoman for the department said:
“The number of donors is improving in the UK, but there is still a shortage of sperm. We are funding a project which will pilot a model for managing sperm donation, to illustrate ways in which more effective and efficient use of available resources can be made.”
However, Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat science spokesman, said: “Instead of spending patients’ money on advertising, the solution lies in restoring the option of anonymity.”