Australian News: IVF Clinics Appeal To Politicians To Donate

Fertility clinics in the Australian state of Victoria have sent out urgent requests for help to their politicians asking not for more money or more facilities but to get them to donate sperm to restock dwindling supplies.

Monash IVF clinic in Melbourne has sent out a plea to all male politicians under the age of 45, appealing for them to set an example and donate.

Sperm stocks have become depleted since 1998 when the law ordered donors had to agree to having their identities revealed when a child turns 18.

Surprisingly the clinic reports it has yet to receive any donations.

The plea is a serious request by the clinic in a desperate attempt to enable it to fulfil demand from couples wanting to receive IVF treatment because donors have been hard to find over fears of possible consequences of the recent laws. The clinic hopes that by persuading the politiciains to donate their sperm may convince others to follow the example.

The inspiration is said to have come from a recent similar campaign that successfully signed more people up to become organ donors.

In December, 2004, an Australian fertility clinic in Albury, south-west of Sydney, offered students in Canada a free two-week holiday in Australia in return for sperm.

The problem has also been experienced by other countries that banned anonymity for the donors of sperm and eggs creating shortages, but they argue that a child's right to trace his or her biological parent is more important than ensuring supplies, something that many couples who are likely to miss the chance of conceiving as a result would no doubt strongly disagree.