Sperm donors bribed with free breakfast

WITH the number of sperm donors in the Lothians down to only six, one fertility clinic has unveiled a tempting trade-off to help boost numbers – if you give them your oats they'll give you your porage.

Commuters in Edinburgh will be targeted with a unique new marketing campaign offering them a free breakfast in exchange for signing up to give sperm.

The posters reading: "You give us your oats, we'll give you your porage", will be displayed at the Sheriffhall park-and-ride in the hope of boosting the number of registered donors to help couples who cannot naturally conceive or women wishing to have a child.

It is one of several quirky adverts in a national campaign devised by Spire Healthcare's Shawfair Hospital and IVF Scotland, with others showing tartan sperm swimming towards tartan eggs.

Caitlin Delaney, lead embryologist at the hospital, said: "We are calling on the men of Scotland to give a little something back.

"Increasing sperm donor numbers in Scotland would be life changing for many families.

"They just need that special person to step forward and allow them to complete their family.

"In my experience, donors find the process very rewarding, knowing they've contributed to the future happiness of families."

Donating sperm was traditionally a care-free way for students to make some easy money but changes in legislation have changed that.

Men are known to be put off by the prospect of children looking them up in the future, as they are now entitled to do under legislation, and payments for sperm are no longer allowed.

The process involves extensive testing, meaning several visits to a donation centre are required.

But Spire and IVF Scotland hope the new campaign will convince men that making a donation is a worthwhile thing to do.

It could also persuade couples desperate for a baby not to travel abroad to seek treatment.

Gwenda Burns, the Edinburgh-based Scottish branch co-ordinator for Infertility Network, said: "There is no doubt that the shortage of both egg and sperm donors is having a real effect on patients who need donor treatment, with many couples considering other options such as travelling abroad to access treatment.

"Although many patients do receive a high standard of care abroad, this is not ideal and many patients would prefer to be treated here in Scotland and we welcome any new campaign which highlights the shortage of donors and encourages people to consider coming forward to donate."

NHS Lothian has one of the longest waiting lists in Scotland for IVF treatment, with people waiting up to three years.

The charity said that was too long for many women, who only realise in their early-to-mid thirties that they will have trouble conceiving, with the deadline for treatment at 37. The new IVF centre at Shawfair opens on Monday, with the hope that a local resource will encourage more donors.