People seeking to donate sperm or eggs in Taiwan are subject to age restrictions and must undergo screening at licensed assisted reproductive facilities, the Health Promotion Administration said yesterday.
The agency issued a statement after receiving questions from those who are interested in donating sperm or eggs.
Among 58,557 assisted reproductive treatment cycles recorded in 2023, 386 used donated sperm and 3,259 used donated eggs, it said.
Photo: Taipei Times
While the egg and sperm donation system provides critical support for couples struggling with infertility, the system involves medical, ethical and legal issues, the agency said.
Qualified sperm donors must be males aged 20 to 49, while eligible egg donors must be females aged 20 to 39, the agency said.
Donors’ physical and mental health would be evaluated by assisted reproduction facilities, including their family medical history, infectious diseases and hereditary diseases that could affect reproductive health.
If a couple receives a donated sperm or egg and delivers a live birth, the donor would be banned from donating again, the agency said, adding that the remaining sperm or eggs from the donor would be destroyed.
Donors could only start donating again if the couple fails to deliver a live birth, and there are no more embryos, sperm or eggs left for reproduction, it said.
An egg donor may be paid up to NT$99,000 when donations are complete, while a sperm donor may be paid up to NT$8,000, it added.
To avoid disputes, donors should confirm in advance with assisted reproduction facilities about the compensation they would receive for donating sperm or eggs, the agency said.
Taiwan adopts an anonymous donor system, in which donors are not allowed to designate sperm or eggs to be used by specific recipients and couples are not allowed to request sperm or eggs from specific donors, it said.
To protect the privacy of donors and recipients, their identities must not be disclosed to each other, the administration said.
Donors cannot demand their donated sperm or eggs be returned, unless they are later diagnosed with a reproductive impairment, it said.
Children born through artificial reproduction are those of the couples delivering them, it said.
Donors and children conceived through their sperm or eggs do not have legal family relations, so donors cannot ask children to reunite with them, it said.
In addition, donors are not obligated to raise the children, who do not have the right to inherit the assets of the donors, it said.
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