All of Scotland’s five fertility clinics are struggling and one has closed for lack of sperm donors. A recent law has given people in the UK the right to trace their biological father. As soon as it came into effect sperm donation stopped. At the moment in all of Scotland there is only one active sperm donor.

“When the law was introduced, we anticipated having to offer a more limited treatment. We never anticipated having to close,” said a spokeswoman for the Aberdeen fertility clinic. “It’s impossible to buy sperm. We tried every unit across the country. Every time you phone you are told there are no supplies. The big suppliers are keeping sperm for their own patients in their private clinics.” Infertility Network UK, a lobby group, has begun calling for a nationwide recruitment campaign.

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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