This website was designed in 2006 to serve two functions:

1. To help donor offspring have a better understanding of their health background; and
2. To share donor health information with others who are thinking about using donor sperm or eggs.

Sperm and egg banks carry a large inventory of donors. When health issues occur with donor offspring, the parent is urged to report these concerns to the bank from which they purchased the sperm or eggs. However, there are several problems related to either obtaining this information or sharing it with others.

1. It is very difficult to prove that any health issues are due to the donor’s genes rather than the other biological parent.
2. Many pregnancies go unreported, so it is difficult to track health issues with offspring or even find all the offspring of any particular donor.
3. If a donor realizes later in life that he or she has new health issues in the family, he/she may not report them to the bank, or the original bank may no longer exist. Even if he/she is able to find the bank and report the health issues, it is extremely difficult to find offspring, many of which may have been unreported or moved to new addresses since their birth.

For these reasons, many donor and donor offspring health issues are not shared with others who have conceived using the same donor, or with others interested in purchasing sperm or eggs from the same donor. This is particularly a problem when health issues are severe and/or misunderstood.

It is hoped that people considering sperm or egg donation to conceive will find our database useful for screening purposes, and that donor offspring will be able to better understand their health background because of what they find here.