Restrictions on sperm donations or the ability to obtain IVF treatment in some jurisdictions has given rise to women traveling to a country which does not impose restrictions in the circumstances in which they finds themselves to obtain such donations or treatments, in a practice called fertility tourism.
The main reason to limit sperm donations is the risk of accidental consanguinity or inbreeding between donor offspring.
Most jurisdictions which set limits on the number of sperm donations do so in terms of number of donor offspring, but some jurisdictions set the limits in terms of "families", to allow for the children of the recipient woman to be true genetic siblings and because consanguinity issues are caught by a country's incest laws.
In some jurisdictions such as France, single women and lesbian couples have only been able to receive treatments using donor sperm since 2021.
However, the Belgian Parliament became concerned about this and, along with the promulgation of the Tissues Directive by the European Commission, the Government decided radically to alter the laws relating to maximum numbers.
In France, donations from a single donor may give rise to six families, but there is no limit to sibling numbers.
The legal position surrounding donations to single mothers and lesbians is still awaiting clarification by the courts.
In New Zealand, a voluntary policy law by fertility clinics limit one donor to "fathering" a maximum of 10 children to four families.
[citation needed] Around 1996–97, fertility clinics in New Zealand voluntarily agreed they would only accept donations from non-anonymous donors.
[37] The Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 legislated that all donations made on or after 22 August 2005 must be non-anonymous.
Prior to the change in the law in 2008, clinics set their own maximums on the numbers of children produced from each donor.
[23][38] Nevertheless, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) recommends a maximum of 6 children per donor.
[39] Artificial insemination by donor was done only if the woman was married or in registered cohabitation, and required written consent of the spouse or partner.
[24] This law has now changed allowing single women access to state funded fertility treatment although long waiting lists may prove prohibitive.
In practice this means that only vials from the most fertile donors and those who donate over a longer period of time than the norm, will be exported.
The risk of consanguinity is therefore negligible although some individual donors may produce substantial numbers of offspring if they donate for a long period of time.
The offspring of sperm providers have the right to know the identity of the donor when the person reaches the age of 18, if treatment was in the UK and conception occurred after March 31, 2005.
[47] In 2005, the FDA placed a ban on men who have engaged in sex with another man in the last 5 years being able to donate sperm.