About 1,000 orders for sperm samples have been made by private Irish individuals from the world’s largest sperm bank in the past decade, it has emerged.
According to Cryos International – Denmark, about 100 orders are privately placed by Irish people annually.
The figure does not include sperm orders supplied to Irish fertility clinics.
Cryos chief executive Peter Reeslev said there had been a dramatic shift in customer groups in the past 10 years, while the number of orders placed had stayed relatively stable.
We can see a change of customer groups with a rapidly growing share of singles and lesbians out of the total distribution
He said private heterosexual couples from Ireland now make up just 20 per cent of purchasers. The majority of private orders are now made by singles (40 per cent) and lesbians (40 per cent).
Based on customer surveys, he said “we can see a change of customer groups with a rapidly growing share of singles and lesbians out of the total distribution”.
Mr Reeslev declined to reveal the exact number of orders placed by private and corporate individuals, but added that about 80 per cent of Irish sperm orders were supplied to clinics while the remaining 20 per cent were issued to private individuals.
There has also been a shift in the type of sperm sought by Irish individuals.
“We see a tendency for Irish customers to order more non-anonymous over anonymous, about 65 per cent non-anonymous versus 35 per cent anonymous year to date,” he said.
“That has changed from 56 per cent non-anonymous versus 44 per cent anonymous donors in 2017 and, further back, the share of anonymous was even higher. This tendency might be an influence of the anticipation of a potential legislative change.”
The anonymous provision of sperm and eggs in fertility treatment is set to be banned under Irish law shortly.
According to another outlet, the European Sperm Bank, personal orders by Irish patients numbered around 100 in 2017 and order numbers are increasing in 2018.
About 20 per cent of the sperm delivered to Ireland last year was anonymous, while 80 per cent was non-anonymous, a spokeswoman said.
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Parts of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, which have yet to be enacted in Ireland, will see the creation of a register of a donor-conceived person register, to contain the details of sperm and egg donors.
Mr Reeslev disagreed with the plan and argued that both anonymous and non-anonymous sperm samples should be permitted.
“If the law-makers of Ireland were really visionary, they would allow for both types [anonymous and non-anonymous], as this would ensure plentiful supply of donors, lower cost for society or private customers depending on financing system, and the free choice for the people in need of help from a donor.”
Sperm sample prices varied greatly depending on a number of different factors, but could range between €46 and €800 per sperm sample, he said.