Liverpool's fertility clinic is having to buy in sperm from Manchester because its stocks are so low.
Professor Charles Kingsland, head of the Hewitt Fertility Centre based at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, said that a change in the law had led to a drastic decline in donors.
Prof Kingsland said: "It’s not just our stocks that are low, it is all stocks because the law concerning donors changed some years ago. Now donors only get reasonable expenses as opposed to getting paid and they can no longer remain anonymous."
The drop in donors began in 2005 when people donating sperm and eggs no longer had the right to remain anonymous or be entitled to payment. Now couples face a wait of over a year before a donor becomes available.
The clinic has been buying sperm from other sources including Manchester Fertility Services and a private clinic in Harley Street, London. Couples have also had to buy sperm themselves on the internet from reputable clinics in the US and Denmark.
Now the clinic is opening a second site in Knutsford, Cheshire, and has launched a campaign to encourage more men to help infertile couples.
Prof Kingsland said: "We have the technology. We are offering success rates that even ten years ago were unheard of. Now we need to replenish our sperm bank."
"With this campaign we just want to raise awareness. And the enormous benefit for the donor is that they really are helping couples get that longed-for family."
Read more about known sperm donation at www.prideangel.com