We have sperm!

After all of my complaints about the wait to get a sperm donor, I decided to call the clinic today to ask what was going on. I spoke to the donor coordinator who told me I was currently eighth on the waiting list and therefore another 6-8 weeks away from getting a donor. I told her how disappointed my husband and I were and all of sudden she perked up and said 'husband?'. I have a funny feeling I must have been put in the 'single' box because all of a sudden she said that all the people above me on the donor list were either single applicants or same-sex couples.  Although the clinic themselves can't put any restrictions on who access donor sperm, the donors themselves can limit who receives their donations (for example no single people, or only hetero married couples). Also if there is limited sperm samples available, the sample may be considered only acceptable for IVF and not for IUI.

So after all of that, we have five donor profiles to pick from! We have eliminated two of the donors straight away as one had green eyes and blond hair (we both have brown hair while I have blue eyes and Murray has brown eyes, and the other donor was only 170cm (I'm 173cm and DH is 182cm) and would need ICSI (We only want to use straight IVF).

So now the decision making starts! Our three profile finalists are:

Donor One
HEIGHT         184CM
BUILD            MEDIUM
HAIR COLOUR        BLONDE/BROWN
EYE COLOUR        BROWN
COMPLEXION        OLIVE
BLOOD GROUP        A-
BIRTHPLACE        AUSTRALIA
RACE        CAUCASIAN
OCCUPATION        JOURNALIST
EDUCATION LEVEL        TERTIARY

INTERESTS         WRITING

SINGLE CONSENT         YES

PERSONALITY AND OTHER INFORMATION:

The donor describes himself as outgoing and is donating for altruistic reasons. He has a history of a heart problem (resting tachycardia) which has been cured. This does not affect his ability to be a donor although please note that this sperm would need to be used in conjunction with an IVF cycle.

Donor Two

HEIGHT         188 CM
BUILD         SLIM
HAIR COLOUR         LIGHT BROWN
EYE COLOUR         BLUE
COMPLEXION         FAIR
BLOOD GROUP         O +VE
BIRTHPLACE         NEW SOUTH WALES
RACE          CAUCASIAN
OCCUPATION         CARPENTER
EDUCATION LEVEL         DIPLOMA
INTERESTS         BUILDING FURNITURE, ORGANISING
SINGLE CONSENT         NOT FOR SAME SEX COUPLES
PERSONALITY AND OTHER INFORMATION:
The donor describes himself as “friendly and extroverted” and is donating to help others. He has no children of his own and his medical history is excellent.

Donor Three
HEIGHT                  176CM

BUILD                 MEDIUM

HAIR COLOUR              BROWN

EYE COLOUR                BROWN

COMPLEXION               FAIR

BLOOD GROUP               A+

BIRTHPLACE             WA

RACE                   EUROPEAN (POLISH/AUSTRALIAN)

OCCUPATION                    TEACHER (HIGH SCHOOL)

EDUCATION LEVEL             BACHELOR OF ECONOMICS (HONS)

INTERESTS               TRAVEL, DINING OUT

SINGLE CONSENT            YES

PERSONALITY AND OTHER INFORMATION:
This donor is donating because he’d like “to help out someone who wants a child”, and describes himself as easygoing. He has hypertension (on treatment) and has experienced depression in the past.


Our thoughts so far...

• Would like someone who is around Murray's height (184cm)
• Definitely needs brown hair as we both have brown hair, but it can be light coloured
• Murray was a journalist before he became a teacher so both of those occupations are highly regarded by us
• Murray would prefer a degree qualification
• I like that the carpenter makes furniture and is handy - very much like my brothers but not like Murray!
• The health problems dont concern us all that much as Murray already has hypertension and we have both had depression. Tachycardia is treatable so all okay from that side of things

What else should we be considering? I think Donor 1 is our frontrunner, the only real concern we have is the olive skin. We are both very fair so how olive is olive? Are we talking dark brown or just tanned? Will we be asked questions by people on the street? Will it affect our child? Do we have to match exactly? Is dark skin a dominant gene - will it even matter? So much stuff to think about


But seriously, how on earth do you make a decision like this! We have prayed about it and I know that God will lead us in the right direction. I want to be able to call back on Monday with our answer, so please pray for us for wisdom to make the right decision.