Sperm donor

A sperm donor is a man who provides his sperm to other people so that they can fulfill their desire to have children.

There are two options for sperm donation:

Donation at a sperm bank
Private sperm donation

5 Differences between private sperm donation and a sperm bank

Sperm Bank

No direct contact with the donor

Entry in the sperm donor registry, child has possibility to contact the donor

Independent health check of the donor

High cost (about 500 euros per unit)

Clear legal regulation

Private sperm donation

Direct contact with the donor

For Yes sperm donors: Child can contact donor if donor is willing to do so

Donor health screening is a matter of trust

No costs (usually “expense allowance”)

Legal uncertainty for donor and recipient (more on this below).

Private sperm donation

In the case of a private sperm donation, the parents-to-be often look for the donor in their social environment or via an Internet portal such as Familyship. The biggest advantage of private sperm donation is that the child can have contact with the donor. Also, a private donation is much less expensive than one from a sperm bank.

Since the route via private sperm donation involves more stumbling blocks than might be assumed at first glance, we strongly recommend seeking advice on how to have a child as well as legal advice.

There are currently no events.

Agreement with the sperm donor

To further reduce the risk to the sperm donor, it is common for an agreement to be drawn up between the sperm donor and the mother(s). The points that the agreement must include depend on whether the sperm donor is to accompany the child as a paternal caregiver (“father with uncle function”).

The semen is obtained through a sperm bank. After the child is born, there is no man to take over the father role.-> No need for regulation
The sperm donor is known by name to the mother, but he wishes to remain anonymous and does not want to be named in the adoption proceedings.-> This is not legally possible, as a child has a legal right to know who his biological father is. However, it is possible that the sperm donor instructs a notary not to forward the notarized consent to the family court. Instead, the notary informs the family court that the consent of the biological father has been obtained, but that he wishes to remain anonymous and not participate in the proceedings. The child then has the possibility to find out his biological father via the documents at the notary.
The sperm donor is known to the mother and wants to consent to the stepchild adoption. However, he does not want to have anything to do with the child and also wants to be sure that he does not have to pay child support.-> The parties involved can agree that the mother and the co-mother release the sperm donor from child support claims. Furthermore, they can agree that the co-mother will indemnify the sperm donor against claims for maintenance by the mother. Of course, it can also be agreed that the sperm donor will provide child support until the stepchild adoption or even beyond.

Sample agreements
can be downloaded from the pages of the LSVD.