30 Mar 2021

Thousands of women facing years-long wait for sperm donors

From Nine To Noon, 9:09 am on 30 March 2021
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Photo: 123RF

Fertility experts say the number of people waiting for a sperm donor has more doubled over the past five years, as the wait list at one clinic in Wellington reaches about one thousand.

At the same time the number of women freezing their eggs doubled - going from 50 in 2016 to 250 last year.

Social infertility - is the term used to define people who are unable to get pregnant, not due to biological factors, but social.

Single women and women in same-sex relationships are facing wait times of two years or more for a sperm donor.

Fertility Associate's Wellington's Dr Andrew Murray says he's seen a sharp increase in the number of people dealing with social infertility.

And Sarah is a woman living in Auckland who's been waiting 18 months for a donor, the soonest she's likely to get one is October this year.