Ashleigh Gleeson
Aussie men should be paid to donate their sperm to help fix a shortage that is causing huge waitlists at some IVF clinics and an over-reliance on it being shipped in from overseas, a leading fertility specialist says.
It comes as multiple experts slam the inconsistent state-by-state laws for sperm donation in Australia, saying it causes
“confusion” and is a “night-mare”.
In just one confusing dis-crepancy, each state and territory has different limits on how many families a donor can have, mostly ranging from between five and 10.
The issue has been thrown into the spotlight upon the release of the first episode of the Fertility Unpacked limited se-ries, which explores the rising trend of solo mothers in Australia in episode one.
A big challenge faced by single women and same-sex couples is a lack of choice for local sperm which must be donated altruistically in Australia.
Some are turning to sperm donation Facebook groups which come with huge risks and problems.
Lynn Burmeister, owner and medical director at No. 1 Fer-tility, said we should start thinking about allowing Aussie men to be paid for their sperm to boost local donor numbers.
She said there were 400 women on her waitlist in Victoria and they were facing two-to-three year delays.