Sperm bank update in Japan

Japan’s first sperm bank is being opened in Tokyo for donors who agree to disclose their identity.

Sperm donation in Japan is known for being largely unregulated, and is predominantly performed on an anonymous basis.

Traditionally, ‘medical institutions have requested confidentiality from (sperm) donors and recipients and the procedure has been treated as something to feel guilty about,’ said Hiromi Ito, counsels on infertility at the Private Care Clinic Tokyo, Japan.

Anonymous sperm donation evokes a child’s ability to learn about their genetic heritage. Studies have shown that those learning about their donor conception can have major identity issues. Therefore, providing a child with the knowledge of their genealogy allows them to construct their identity, and determine their medical history which could influence their lifestyle choices.

The welfare needs of donor-conceived people to know the identity of their biological parents are becoming more widely acknowledged. Many jurisdictions have implemented this as a right for donor-conceived people including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The global movement away from anonymity has resulted in many Japanese medical institutions suspending their artificial insemination services as more people are becoming cautious of donating sperm anonymously.

There are fears that the reduction in registered services could push Japanese parents to seek donors via riskier methods such as social media. The new sperm bank will allow parents safety in conception as donors are screened and selected based on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and sperm functionality tests.

For Japan this is a huge step forwards in regulating sperm donation and the welfare needs of donor-conceived individuals. Ito hopes the clinic will ‘create a society where parents can openly tell their children the facts about their births’.