Sperm donation wave hits Kampala, business booms

KAMPALA - At 28, Henry, who declined to reveal his full identity, is one of the pioneers of a peculiar activity in Uganda. 

He donates sperms at a fee, but is not proud of it and cannot disclose to anyone. Henry said he has donated six times to one fertility centre on a call-up basis. 

Henry noted that he would love to donate to other fertility centres, but the pay is low. 

“I went to one fertility centre, which wanted to pay me sh70,000, yet here I am paid more than sh500,000 per donation. I think the Government needs to streamline and regulate the industry because the final clients pay a lot of money to the recipients,” Henry, who graduated from university five years ago, said. 

He said doctors told him that good sperms require a good diet.

“A sperm donor has to meet certain minimum conditions. Some people are rejected because of height, academic background and tribe,” Henry said, adding that some tribes are in high demand, while others are not. 

Currently, the country has many sperm banks, mainly in Kampala. Of all the sperm centres, only two — Mulago Hospital and Makerere University — are government-owned, but are yet to start functioning.

How donation is done? 

Sperm donation is when a man provides sperm for use in fertility treatments, such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation. The donor gives up legal rights to any children born from his sperm. 

This is done through guided masturbation by an embryologist. 

The New Vision talked to experts and said the process does not have any side effects or cause harm to the donor. 

At some fertility centres, technology is applied to help the donor navigate the process. “This is one of the human-assisted reproductive technologies, which helps couples and individuals to have children,” an expert, who works at a fertility centre, said.  

Calls for regulation 

Dr Herbert Luswata, the president of the Uganda Medical Association, said the mad-rush for sperm donation among youth demands an urgent intervention to regulate sperm donation services across the country. 

“I think it is time to have a Bill because many things can go wrong when science is not well regulated,” he said.

Luswata argues that while sperm donation is an essential option for individuals and couples struggling with infertility, the lack of regulation has left donors and recipients vulnerable to ethical and financial exploitation. 

Currently, there is no regulation or guidelines on the overall governance of sperm donation. 

Dr Anthony Kayiira, a fertility expert at Mulago Hospital, said unregulated sperm donation could lead to consanguinity (genetic relatedness among offspring) and other ethical concerns. 

“We need stricter regulations to protect donors and recipients. Many young men donate sperm believing they will receive a big pay cheque, only to be disappointed by the actual compensation,” he said. 

Currently, Tororo district Woman MP Sarah Opendi is working on a Private Member’s Bill titled, ‘The Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill,’ which was introduced to Parliament in 2023. 

“The aim of my Bill is to regulate the fertility clinics, hospitals, and those that use their services,” she told The Weekend Vision. Recently, there was an attempt to table the Bill on the floor, but Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja asked for two more weeks so that the health ministry can give its input.

Global practices 

In Western countries, Opendi said sperm donation is highly regulated, with strict protocols ensuring donor screening, genetic testing and limits on the number of families a single donor can assist. 

Lisa Stark Hughes, a two-time surrogate mother and founder of Gestational Surrogate Moms in Uganda and Kenya, said Opendi’s move to introduce a regulatory framework is a timely intervention. 

“By creating a transparent framework, we can bring sperm donation into the open, transforming it from a family secret into a legitimate and respected avenue for family building,” she said. 

Yet for Dr Joseph Muhumuza, an obstetrics and gynaecology specialist at Roswell Women’s and Children’s Hospital, beyond the financial and legal concerns, sperm donation in Uganda is almost a taboo. 

“Many men fear donating sperm, thinking it can affect their masculinity or lead to unforeseen social consequences,” Muhumuza said, adding that cultural stigma makes it more challenging to establish a transparent and ethical sperm donation industry. 

Ruth Ssekindi, the director, monitoring and inspections at the Uganda Human Rights Commission, said to curb the mad-rush for sperm donation among youth, the age of people allowed to engage in sperm donation should be increased from 18 to 23 years. 

On the requirement for a sperm donor, Dr Paul Kibenge a fertility expert at Women’s Hospital, International and Fertility Centre, Bukoto, said the age bracket should be between 25 and 35 years. 

“This is the period during which the sperm quality is reliably good,” he said.

Embryologists Claire Mukasa and Isaac Kayanja in the IVF laboratory at Women's Hospital International and Fertility Centre, Kampala.

Harvesting sperm 

Donating sperm, Dr Andabati Gonzaga, a fertility expert at Bethany Women and Family Hospital, said has been embraced by young men to help fellow men who are producing low-quality sperms that cannot make their wives pregnant. 

Harvested sperms, he said, are stored for about four to six months as the facility waits for potential clients. Gonzaga added that at their facility, donated sperms are not given to women who have no partners or spouses. 

However, Kibenge said the biggest group of clients for donated sperms within Kampala are “single women who have given up on relationships, citing various reasons.

Who are the clients? 

One of the brokers for Ugandan youth who are making a killing out of sperm donation said due to digital communication advancement, Ugandan donors are increasingly looking to Kenya for better deals. 

In Nairobi, sperm donors at Fertility Point Clinic are paid Ksh55,000 (about $400 or sh1.4m) per donation — higher than Uganda’s rates. Within Uganda, Dr Claire Mukasa, a senior embryologist at Women’s Fertility Hospital, told New Vision that the drive for sperm donation among youth has increased. 

“We receive two to five people requiring sperm donations every month, unlike in the past when only women sought fertility treatment,” she said. 

Mukasa said at Women’s Fertility Hospital, sperm donors receive a compensation of $20 (about sh100,000) to cover transport and communication costs. 

A donor, she said, is limited to assisting five families, after which they are no longer eligible to donate. 

However, for women, the cost of In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) at Women’s Fertility Hospital, Uganda, ranges from $7,000 (about sh25m) to $10,000 (about sh38m) making it unaffordable for many. 

Most clients seeking IVF services come from Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, China, DR Congo and Eritrea, among others. 

Yet for sperm donors, Dr Joseph Muhumuza, an obstetrics and gynaecology specialist at Roswell Women’s and Children’s Hospital, said: “The money paid to these donors is a mere small token of appreciation.” 

Muhumuza, however, added that of late, the token of appreciation has swelled into a lucrative business — depending on client’s needs. 

“We got a special donor who had special features needed by the recipient and we paid him sh4m. We normally start from sh500,000 – that is if you pass all the tests and criteria,” he said. 

“Ideally and ethically, one ejaculation should be used on one recipient, but each fertility centre in Uganda has its own policy and how they intend to use the donated sperm,” Muhumuza added.

Additional reporting by Agnes Kyotalengerire