The Gay Gamete Project was developed as a means to ensure the genetic survival of homosexuality;to assure that the decline in homosexual procreation does not result in our eventual extinction.
The FDA has been in the process of promulgating national regulations that would prohibit clinics from accepting sperm from homosexual applicants since 1999. The decision will likely be finalized before 2003. Due to these homophobic guidelines as well as those proposed by the ASRM, it is unfortunately necessary for gay men to lie about their sexual preference and sexual history in the application and interview process. Gay men are automatically excluded from sperm donor programs using hypothetical risk of HIV transmission as justification. It is clear that homophobic fears play no small part in the creation of these policies. Fear that homosexuality will be passed on to the donors offspring is the more likely reason for creation of these exclusionary, reactionary, and unjustified guidelines which routinely exclude homosexual men from sperm donor programs.
About 33% of couples have an infertility problem that is due to the male partner. Although there have been many advances over the last few years in the treatment of male factor infertility, there are a number of couples for which these treatments are either inappropriate, or unsuccessful. The alternative is to consider the use of donor sperm. Sperm donation is most successful in cases where the couple's infertility problem has been identified as the Intended Father's low sperm count and/or poor motility. It is also one of the most affordable and least invasive methods of infertility treatment. Artificial insemination is also useful for diabetics suffering from retrograde ejaculation (where the sperm is released incorrectly into the bladder), and men suffering from impotence or semen deficiencies. Donor sperm is injected directly into the Recipient womens cervix. The donor sperm is often selected and ordered through a Sperm Bank.
Sperm banks are the laboratories where sperm donors provide semen specimens, and where Andrology professionals perform the medical procedures for freezing and storing the semen until needed for artificial insemination. Sperm banks are also known as human semen Cryobanks. About 150 commercial sperm banks exist in the United States; these banks are often clustered around universities where many young men live who are considered to be intelligent and virile. The qualities assumed present in college students are in high demand among infertile couples trying to have a baby. As a result, as many as 90 percent of all sperm donors are college students. Rates for sperm donation vary from $40 to $100 for each semen sample. A donator can sire a maximum of 10 children and potentially make up to $6,000 in a year. As a gay sperm donor you can simultaneously help to promote the gay agenda by insuring the continuing survival of the Gay gene(s), and have an addition to your existing income.
After you have passed the initial screening procedures, the donation process is simple. You walk into a private room, which is usually stocked with pornography, and masturbate into a sterile container (it may be necessary to covertly bring your own pornography, as their collection will only include standard heterosexual porn.) The semen sample is collected from the container and is mixed with a cryopreservative solution, divided in aliquots, sealed in vials and frozen with liquid nitrogen. The frozen semen is stored at -321 degrees F. After a minimum six-month storage period to insure against the presence of disease, the semen sample may be thawed when needed and used in artificial insemination.
Most sperm banks operate on an anonymous donor basis; an extended profile of all of their donors' personalities and interests are used to match donors with recipient couples. The following Information on each donor is usually available to the recipients: Blood type, Eye color, Height, Hair color, Weight, Ethnic origin, Religion, Complexion, Hair type, Build, Education, Occupation, Interests, Talents, IQ, personality characteristics. Essays and photography are often available as well. After narrowing down the selection to two or three, the client will be offered an extended donor profile, further detailing the donor's background. At this point, the client will make a final choice. Most couples attempt to match the socially desirable features and characteristics of the husband/partner.
The following are immediately disqualified from donating sperm: Homosexual men, men who have had sex with other men in the past five years, men who have visited areas where considerable numbers of AIDS cases have been reported and have had sex with either women or men living there, men who have a history of certain diseases in the family (i.e. cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, etc.), and Intravenous drug users.
As an Applicant, you will go through a rigorous screening process before you are cleared to become an anonymous sperm donor. Donor screening consists of questionnaires, blood screening, specimen screening, genetic analysis and a physical examination. Donors must undergo a medical examination, medical history, and testing to screen out any health problems. Good backgrounds, good genetic history (up to three generations), and excellent health are all requirements. The semen is analyzed for sperm cell count, forward sperm cell motility, and normal sperm morphology. Candidates also undergo vigorous, lengthy interviews involving personal questions concerning sexual behavior, family background and reasons for participating in semen donor programs. Donors are anonymous, and no acknowledgement is made of any ensuing pregnancies. As a donor, you will have absolutely no legal responsibility to any children conceived using your sperm.
The screening process takes from 8 weeks to 6 months depending on the sperm bank that you are applying to. You will need to collect 3 to 5 samples with an interval of 48-72 hours between specimens. These samples are used for quality assurance testing only, and allow the sperm bank to screen potential candidates. Generally no payment is issued for evaluation samples. All semen samples are collected on the premises of the sperm bank that you have chosen. Generally, you must have abstained from any sexual activity or masturbation for 48-72 hours. The quality of each sample is checked for the sperm concentration (number of sperm cells) and motility (percent of sperm cells moving). This procedure is performed on the fresh ejaculate, and again within 2-3 days on a thawed portion of the frozen specimen for quality assurance. If you are one of the lucky 5 percent of applicants who are accepted to donate, you will be paid from $40 to $100 for each semen sample. A donator can sire a maximum of 10 children and potentially make up to $6,000 in a year.
Tests Performed for Infection Screening Are:
ABO-Rh Blood Typing
Neisseria gonorrhea culture
Hepatitis B Surface Antigen
Hepatitis B Core Antibody
Hepatitis C Viral Antibody
HIV 1, HIV-2(AIDS) Antibody
CMV Culture (if antibody positive)
Sickle-cell anemia for African American donors
Thalassemia for donors of Mediterranean descent
Cystic fibrosis if indicated in donor's family history
Due to homophobic guidelines promulgated by the ASRM and FDA, it is unfortunately necessary for gay men to lie about their sexual preference and sexual history in the application and interview process. Gay men are automatically excluded from sperm donor programs using hypothetical risk of HIV transmission as justification. It is clear that homophobic fears play no small part in the creation of these policies. Fear that homosexuality will be passed on to the donors offspring is the more likely reason for the promulgation of these exclusionary, reactionary, and unjustified guidelines which routinely exclude homosexual men from sperm donor programs.
In addition to a thorough infection screen, donor candidates must have two tests for HIV, performed 6 months apart. All of the donor sperm that is used comes from frozen samples, stored for a period of 6 months quarantine, to allow adequate time for the full infection screen. These tests are designed to rule out the possibility of disease transmission. Only if the donor is negative for HIV antibodies on both tests will the sperm be released for use. In addition to this seemingly adequate HIV screening procedure, men considered to be members of high-risk groups for HIV are disqualified. Men who have had sex with other men, Intravenous drug users, men who have visited areas where considerable numbers of AIDS cases have been reported and have had sex with either women or men living there, Hemophiliacs who may have received infected Factor VIII before it was made safe by heat treatment, or the sexual partners of any of these people are automatically rejected as potential donors.
Artificial insemination is a procedure in which sperm are introduced into the recipient woman's uterus or cervix artificially instead of by natural means. Using donor sperm with artificial insemination is sometimes called donor insemination (DI) or therapeutic donor insemination (TDI). The treatment itself is very simple. Most women have fairly regular menstrual cycles, varying between 25-35 days. Ovulation usually occurs about 14 days prior to the next menstrual period. If the womans cycles are irregular, fertility drugs may be given to cause ovulation. The donor sperm needs to be placed inside the neck of the uterus (the cervix) at around the time the egg is released. The time that the egg is released is determined by using a urine testing kit. When the urine testing kit suggests that the recipient is close to ovulation, ultrasound scans are arranged to confirm the precise timing of the insemination. A speculum is inserted into the vagina to expose the cervix. A small sample of frozen sperm is thawed and placed into the cervix using a small plastic instrument. This procedure must be performed by a physician or midwife. Intracervical insemination is the introduction an unwashed sperm sample into the cervix utilizing an inseminator. This procedure can be performed at home, or in a clinic sperm bank, or cryobank.
The live birth rate for IVF is generally around 8% per cycle, although results vary from clinic to clinic. At the end of 12 months of treatment 50-60% of women are expected to have conceived. Approximately 30,000 + infants are born each year as a result of donor insemination technology.
Because homophobia on the part of the recipients and clinics prevents you from disclosing your sexual preference, you may be concerned about the possibility of legal repercussions. Actually, although sperm banks are prohibited frm accepting Homosexual donor applicants, it is not technically illegal for you to fail to disclose that you are Gay. It is unlikely that either the clinic or the recipient would be able to successfully sue you should your sexual preference become known. To date no one has been sued for non-disclosure of sexual preference for either egg or sperm donation. The fact that sperm banks have had no such lawsuits filed in 50 years of sperm donation in this country is reassuring. And yet it remains true that anyone can sue just about anyone else for anything. We nevertheless believe the risk of a future legal complication from sperm donation is very small.
Although legal statutes vary state by state, generally donors sign away all rights and responsibility to any child born resulting from there donated sperm. Legislation has primarily been used to protect the rights of the recipient, but it also mean that your legal responsibility is negligible. The clinics themselves bear most of the legal responsibility for donor screening. It is important to remember that genetic causation of homosexuality has not yet been scientifically verified. There is no test for homosexuality. We none the less suggest that you are evasive or equivocal rather than untruthful about your sexual preference if possible. In terms of disclosure of sexual history, it is often necessary to lie about the gender of your previous partners. If the application or interview questions do force you to lie about your sexuality, it is highly unlikely that these clinics will be able to somehow discover that you are Gay. If they did manage to find out, they would simply reject your application. The actual investigation of donor applicants is minimal.