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    1. Health and Fitness

    Sperm bank to offer new online catalogue offering 'well-dressed' donors

    Women looking for a sperm donor will soon be able to look through an online catologue that lists their charactertstics, interests and even fashion sense

    By Marie Claire
    Published 25 July 2011 In Features

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    Pregnant woman
    Pregnant woman
    (Image credit: Rex Features)
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    Women looking for a sperm donor will soon be able to look through an online catologue that lists their charactertstics, interests and even fashion sense

    Mothers-to-be will soon be able to pick a sperm donor from a catalogue listing their personality traits, hobbies and even fashion sense from the comfort of their own homes.

    The London Sperm Bank is compiling an Internet database including detailed notes on donors’ characters and appearance.

    The database will include statements from the men about why they are donating, as well as staff assessments of what the men are like.

    The brochure describes one eligible donor as: ‘very individualistic, quirky and artistic in nature. He has a unique ‘rock star image’ in terms of appearance but not at all in lifestyle or confidence. Shy but if prompted will talk passionately about subjects that matter to him, namely art, music and photography.’

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    This new database follows statistics showing that the number of British sperm donors is increasing. Figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority show that there were 396 donors in 2008, compared to just 251 three years before.

    This increase comes despite laws introduced six years ago that allow children of donors to trace their biological fathers.

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    Research from the London Sperm Bank suggests that most men actually sympathise with a child’s right to trace his or her father, and the recent law has not deterred them from donating sperm.

    The database is revolutionary in the sense that it does not require women to enter a clinic to choose their donor. Rather, they can do it from their own homes.

    ‘Women can access the catalogue from home and make their choices online,’ says Dr Kamal Ahuja from the sperm bank.

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