FMT recently paid a visit to the Tropicana Medical Centre (TMC) Fertility Centre, where its senior embryologist Tee Sze Tian explained the entire process involved in sperm donation.
Tee, who obtained her Masters of Science in Clinical Embryology from Oxford University, UK, said that the heightened awareness of infertility these days had led to an increasing demand for donor sperm among Malaysians.
“Before, when men were told that they needed help, many could not accept that reality. But recently, it’s been like “…okay. Yeah, why not?’,” she said.
Sperm banking
The centre now provides sperm banking facilities, where prospective donors can choose to preserve their semen via the cryo-freezing method. With this method, sperm is frozen in liquid nitrogen that has a temperature of -197 degrees Celsius.
Sperm banking is mostly recommended for men undergoing treatment for testicular or other types of cancer, or for those who just simply want to delay parenthood. Freezing their sperm while they are still healthy allows these men to use their own sperm later once they are ready to begin a family.
Besides storing sperm for use at a later date, the centre also accepts sperm from donors.
“Sometimes we run low on certain samples. So whenever someone walks in and volunteers (to donate their sperm), we welcome them. But, they have to go through a series of strict screenings first.”
Tee said that these screenings included a medical checkup and health history to ensure there were no hereditary diseases or infectious diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C (among others).
Once they have cleared the tests, the sperm can then be used by other men who either have a low sperm count or poor quality sperm, besides genetic diseases or cancer. As such, sperm banking plays an important role in giving couples a chance at parenthood when the cause of infertility lies with the man. Male infertility accounts for one-third of all infertility cases.
Misconceptions on donating sperm
Tee said that when the TMC Fertility Centre first opened its doors to the public in 2000, many misconceptions existed about sperm donation.
“Especially during the initial years, most people thought sperm donation was a ‘direct donation’,” she quipped.
“There was a lot of explaining to do on our part (to put things right). We told (donors) that they were not going to meet anyone and instead, the sperm sample was frozen in a bank.”
When asked if the movie “Delivery Man” which featured a sperm donor who fathered 533 children, could in reality take place, Tee said that it was not possible at all.
“There is always a limit imposed by sperm banks. For example, at our centre, we limit donations to five families.
“This means that if we had used the same sperm for five different couples, then we have to close it. It is the responsibility of the institute. We have to self-regulate.”
Tee also explained that if a child that resulted from a sperm donation, wanted to know the identity of his or her biological father, they had the right to do so.
“We are following the Australian accreditation on fertility treatment, which recognises the right of the child to know who his/her biological parent is. So, if the child wants to seek the information from us, we can assist them in doing so.”
However, the donor has his rights to remain anonymous too, she said.
“We cannot force the donor to reveal his identity. But we will call and inform him that his child from (his sperm) donation wishes to know his identity.
“At the end of the day, our responsibility is to ensure that the link is always there. But, we cannot force anyone to make any decision.”
The centre also provides mandatory Implication Counselling, where both recipients and donors are counselled before donating or accepting sperm, or oocytes (eggs). This was to ensure that all parties knew what they were getting into before embarking on the journey.
Rising infertility among Malaysians
Tee said infertility was becoming increasingly common among Malaysians due to various environmental factors such as delays in getting married, unhealthy lifestyles, and demanding careers.
“Infertility has increased drastically throughout the years. We used to do less than 50 in-vitro fertilisations (IVF) a year. But now, we are doing 1,000 cases a year.
“And, I’m not counting those who have consulted other doctors with different plans outside.”
Urologist Dr Hemanth Kumar Ramasamy also shared a similar opinion, saying that poor lifestyles were among the leading causes of infertility these days.
“Men who work in warm environments and those who always spend time in spas are prone to infertility. In short, a hot environment gives a negative impact (on sperm) because the testis have to be (in conditions) between 34 and 35 degrees Celsius.”
Hemanth stressed that leading a heathy lifestyle was imperative to staying fertile.
“Stay away from things that will harm you, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, doing recreational drugs, even something as simple as wearing tight underwear on a daily basis. Lead a healthy lifestyle.”