BRITAIN: The world's first sperm donor site for lesbians who want to be parents received 8,000 registrations within 48 hours of going live, its founders said yesterday.
Man Not Included.com was formally launched in the UK on Monday and so far 3,000 lesbian couples have signed up and 5,000 men have come forward to be registered as sperm donors.
The organisers said registrations have been received from lesbian couples and donors from throughout the world, including the US, Australia, Pakistan, Ireland, Spain, Colombia, Sweden, India and Canada.
However, the vast majority of the interest has so far been generated among people in the UK.
The service founder Mr John Gonzalez said: "We have been overwhelmed by the response to the website. Over 40,000 people have visited the website since it went live on Monday morning.
"As a result of this interest we've demonstrated that there is a huge demand for our unique service." He said not all of the registrations received so far would pass the service's screening process. The team behind the service meet both donors and recipients for vetting purposes, but the two parties will not meet.
The sperm donation will be made through one of a network of established clinics which will provide medical screening.
It will then be despatched to the recipients for them to carry out "home insemination".
Registration on the site, at www.mannotincluded.com, starts at £80 and it should cost a couple £480 to conceive a child through the service. Sperm donors will be paid expenses, expected to be about £50-£60. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has expressed concerns about the service. A spokeswoman warned that stringent health screening of sperm was essential to prevent the women's health being put at risk. "There is also no guarantee that the sperm will be fertile," she said.
"We would always strongly advise that if people do want to use donor sperm they are best to go to a licensed clinic where they know they are getting a high quality service. "It also gives them an opportunity to discuss the issues that come up with using donor gametes. There are a lot of things that need to be thought through."
Last week a 36-year-old Swede lost an appeal against a ruling that he must pay support for three children conceived with sperm he donated to a lesbian couple.- (PA, Reuters)