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Black sperm donors in short supply
A Gwinnett County couple hoping to start a family with the help of a sperm donor hit an unexpected snag. They are both Black, and wanted a Black donor, but finding one proved turned out to be much harder than they would have ever imagined.
SUGAR HILL, Ga. - Jamelia and Kewanda Walker go way back.
"We have known each other for 18 years now and been together for 12," Jamelia Walker says.
After marrying 7 years ago, the Sugar Hill, Georgia, couple decided to try to start a family, through in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
But first they needed to find an anonymous sperm donor.
Kewanda and Jamelia Walker of Sugar Hill, Georgia, wanted to find a Black sperm donor to help them start their family. It was much harder than they expected. (Walker family photo)
"Atlanta had slim to none," Walker says. "There was nothing there, no cryobank. So, everyone always goes to California."
They signed up with California Cryobank, one of the largest sperm donor programs in the US.
"We did not know it was going to be that hard to find a donor," Walker says.
The Walkers, who are Black, wanted a Black sperm donor.
If they were unable to find one, she says, they were willing to pause their plan to have a child.
"We're already in the queer space," Jamelia Walker says. "We're doing this, as many people would say, 'non-traditional.' So, we wanted our child to look like us, so that we can teach them our traditions, our background, our heritage."
But of 263 donors in the cryobank catalog at the time, the Walkers say, only 3 were Black.
With testing, they dropped to 2 donor matches, and then to one.
"Thank God it was the one that we really wanted," Walker says.
The Walker's fertility specialist, Dr. Desiree' McCarthy-Keith, medical director of Shady Grove Fertility in Atlanta, says her patients of color are often caught off guard when they begin the search for a sperm donor.
Kewanda and Jamelia Walker of Sugar Hill, Georgia, wanted to find a Black sperm donor to help them start their family. It was much harder than they expected. (Walker family photo)
"They think, 'Okay, we need donor sperm, we're just going to go to the bank, we're going to have this whole library of donors, and we're going to have a hard time picking one,'" Dr. McCarthy-Keith says. "And, then they get there, there's so few; there's less than a handful that they have to choose from."
Scott Brown, senior director of global donor sperm services at California Cryobank says their current sperm donors are roughly 43% Asian, 40% white, 10% Hispanic, but only about 5% Black.
Nationally, it is estimated as few as 2% of sperm donors at cryobanks are Black.
"I think it's a combination of supply and demand," Brown says. "We do not choose donors based on ethnic background. If you pass to the screening, you get into the program."
The challenge, Brown says, is only about 1% of men who initially apply make it through the screening process.
Kewanda and Jamelia Walker of Sugar Hill, Georgia, wanted to find a Black sperm donor to help them start their family. It was much harder than they expected. They are smiling and look happy. (Walker family photo)
Some have medical issues that get flagged, he says, and others drop off before becoming donors.
"So, if you don't have enough guys applying the program, you never get enough guys on the catalog," Brown says. "And that, in essence, has been the challenge for us with African-American donors, just getting enough applicants, so that 1% of whatever qualifies, we can get onto the catalog."
Dr. McCarthy-Keith says stigma about IVF and sperm donation in the Black community may also play a role in the shortage of sperm donors.
"I think that there may be a lack of awareness or information about what it really means to be a sperm donor, and how do I donate," she says. "There's also kind of skepticism of the medical system still by some communities, including the Black community. If I donate my sperm, what are you really going to do with my sperm?"
The Walkers, like most couples who turn to cryobanks, were looking for a healthy, educated donor.
"So, the banks also have to be proactive about going to HBCUs and going to places where there would be more likely to attract and be able to speak to Black donors," McCarthy-Keith says.
Scott Brown says they have expanded their marketing campaign to try to reach more men of color.
"We are desperately looking for any young man interested, but specifically donors of color, Black donors, brown donors, anybody who thinks they're interested," Brown says. "It's a great thing to do."
Walker hopes their story will raise awareness.
Kewanda and Jamelia Walker of Sugar Hill, Georgia, wanted to find a Black sperm donor to help them start their family. It was much harder than they expected.
"Just like we give blood, it's okay to be a sperm donor," she says. "Because, at the end of the day, you're helping someone."
Their son Phoenix Walker is now 3, and the Walkers are pregnant again, due in October, thanks to sperm from the same donor.
Getting here was not easy, but Jameila Walker says motherhood is everything they had hoped for.
"It's exciting, new, exhausting," Walker laughs. "And it's just life-changing, life-changing."