Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-24-2023
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To identify factors influencing sperm donor willingness to participate in direct-to-consumer genetic testing, comfort with sharing genetically identifiable data in commercial genetic testing databases, and likelihood to donate sperm again.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional online anonymous survey.
SETTING: Multicenter, 2 large American sperm banks from July 1, 2020 to July10, 2021.
PATIENTS: Sperm donors from 1980 to 2020.
INTERVENTIONS: None.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Associations between donor demographic characteristics, donation history, and attitudes toward direct-to-consumer genetic testing.
RESULTS: A total of 396 donors completed the survey. Most donations (61.5%) occurred from 2010 to 2020, and 34.3% were nonidentified donations. Nonidentified donors were less comfortable with their genetic data being shared than open-identity donors (25.4% vs. 43.8%) and were less likely than open-identity donors to donate sperm again (43.3% vs. 72.1%). Donors who donated after the inception of direct-to-consumer genetic testing in 2007 were less likely to participate in commercial genetic testing than those who donated before 2007 (25.8% vs. 37.1%). Most donors (87.4%) have disclosed their donation(s) to current partners, but fewer have disclosed them to their families (56.6%) or children (30.5%). Of the donors who had been contacted by donor-conceived persons, 79.5% were identified via direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Overall, 61.1% of donors would donate again regardless of direct-to-consumer genetic testing.
CONCLUSIONS: Direct-to-consumer genetic testing is playing a dynamic role in sperm donor identification, but donors seem willing to donate again. Implication counseling regarding future linkage and contact from donor-conceived persons needs to be standardized for potential donors before donation.
Recommended Citation
Wodoslawsky, Sascha; Fatunbi, Joy; Mercier, Rebecca; and Braverman, Andrea Mechanick, "Sperm donor attitudes and experiences with direct-to-consumer genetic testing." (2023). Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers. Paper 101.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/obgynfp/101
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
36959965
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author's final published version in F and S Reports, Volume 4, Issue 1, March 2023, Pages 36 - 42.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xfre.2022.12.004.
Copyright © 2022 The Author(s)
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).