How to become a donor?
Our donors are normal, physically and mentally healthy men from a broad cross section of society. Most
of them are professionals or students from institutions of higher education. Each donor meets rigorous
selection criteria and undergoes a thorough examination prior to acceptance. The donors receive only a
small remuneration, and it is our belief that they are genuine in their desire to help others.
Donors are fully informed concerning the activities of Rotunda and affirm they have not had homosexual
intercourse, do not belong to any group at risk for AIDS, and furthermore, that they are willing to donate
semen to be used by childless couples for artificial insemination. Donors renounce all paternal rights and responsibilities. The donors are given explicit assurance of anonymity.
Prior to approval, donors are tested for antibodies against HIV-I and -II, VDRL, as well as hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis C (HCV-Ab) and bloodgroup (AB0) is registered. All donors are screened for Thalessemia. Complete anamnesis (specifically regarding possible inheritable conditions) is recorded and the data are entered into a registry of donors. Every donor is examined and given final approval by a medical doctor.
Once every three months, donors are retested for the sexually transmissible diseases:
HIV-I and -II.
Donor characteristics on file includes: donor number, build, height, weight, peculiarities of appearance (e.g. complexion etc.) psychological profile, age, education/occupation, blood type, and negative results on tests for HBsAg, HCV-Ab, syphilis, HIV-I and -II, and Thalessemia.
Semen stays frozen in quarantine for at least three months, after which time the donor must be HIV-negative before the semen can be released.
Donor Information
A Step by step description of how we select donors for our program:
Have you ever wondered how a semen bank selects its donors. At the Rotunda Sperm Bank,
we use a stringent screening process and currently accept into our donor program fewer
than 5% of the men who apply.
Here's why:
The Phone Call...
The process begins with a phone call to our donor coordinator. She asks potential donors a
few basic questions regarding their height, weight, age and educational background. She
also asks whether he or his parents are adopted?
These questions are asked for the following reasons:
1. We have a minimum height requirement because the majority of our clients request
donors between 5'6" and 6'2".
2. The weight of each donor must be in approximate proportion to his height. Excessive
overweight or underweight donors are not accepted into our program due to potential
medical problems associated with abnormal weight.
3. Donors must be between the of 19 and 34. While a man's fertility does not automatically decline after the age of 34, men under that age are more likely to consistently produce superior quality of sperm necessary for successful freezing and thawing.
4. The Rotunda Sperm Bank requires that donors attend, or have graduated from, a major
4-year university. The majority of our donors come from the University of Bombay.
5. We accept only those men who can provide the medical and genetic information on
themselves and their family members required by the Rotunda Sperm Bank.
The Screening Process...
If a potential donor meets the above listed requirements, our donor coordinator will ask him
to complete the donor application form and provide a semen sample. The semen sample
will then be analyzed to determine whether the donor's semen meets our standards.
The majority of potential donors are disqualified due to inadequate semen specimens.
Because a small portion of the sperm is lost in the freezing and thawing process, a donor's
fresh semen samples must meet certain minimum requirement. In order to qualify for our
donor program, 70% of his sperm must be motile, 60% must have normal morphology , and
the sperm count must be at least 60 million sperm per cc.
A donor applicant is disqualified from participation in the donor program if there is a family
history which indicates that the man's offspring may be at increased risk for a birth defect
or known genetic condition. If there is a personal history of alcohol or other drug abuse, the
applicant will not be accepted as a donor. If the medical director is satisfied that the man is a good
candidate for our donor program, he is given a number and he is admitted into our program.
Donor Characteristics
Blood Group of Donor -
Build -
Height -
Complexion -
Occupation -
Date of Collection of Sample -
Donor Screened for - HIV/VDRL/HbsAg/HCV (Negative) & Thalessemia.
Pre-Freeze Parameters:
Type of Sample - Native Ejaculate/Percoll Processed Volume -
Count -
Motility -
Grade -
Post-Thaw Parameters:
Volume -
Count -
Motility -
Grade -
Donor list
We have 18 selected donors in our corps. Only medical institutions can acquire the donor list.
Please identify yourselves by writing to us either by post, fax or e-mail.
