Donor egg and sperm program

On this page:

• Who does the program help?
• Accessing donor egg and sperm for fertility treatment
• Who can be a donor?
• Donating eggs or sperm – what to expect
• Legal information and requirements
• Donating to someone you know
• Register your interest

For many Australians, the dream of becoming a parent cannot be achieved easily. In fact, one in six couples have trouble conceiving.

Victoria’s public egg and sperm donor program is hoping to make things fairer and more affordable for Victorians.

Donated eggs and sperm can help people who, for many reasons, are unable to become parents. This gives Victorian individuals and couples a chance to achieve their dream of starting a family.

Who does the program help?

The egg and sperm donor program has been created for people who are patients of Victoria’s public fertility care service.

Egg and sperm donation can help:

• people who have experienced repeated IVF failure and/or early miscarriage
• people who have been affected by cancer, undergone surgery or other treatment that has affected their fertility
• same-sex couple and LGBTQI+ people
• people who do not have viable eggs or sperm, or who carry a serious genetic disease
• individuals who wish to parent on their own
• people who were born without ovaries or have gone through early menopause.

Accessing donor egg and sperm for fertility treatment

You can join the waitlist to access the donor program by becoming a Public Fertility Care patient. This is a free fertility service across Victorian public hospitals.

If you are eligible for Public Fertility Care, your GP or specialist can make a referral.

Once you are referred as a patient, the Public Fertility Care team will schedule your first appointment to discuss your options and joining the waitlist.

Learn more about Public Fertility Care and eligibility.

Who can be a donor?

All potential egg and sperm donors need to be Australian citizens. 

In Victoria, egg and sperm donors cannot be paid for their donations.

Egg donors need to be aged between 23 and 35 years (inclusive) at the time of starting their donation. Your age may be older than 35 when donating to someone you know.

Sperm donors need to be aged between 23 and 45 years at the time of starting their donation.

Donating sperm or eggs – what to expect 

The donation process:

1. Complete the Expression of interest form. 
2. If you meet the eligibility criteria, we will be in contact and guide you (and your partner if applicable) through the process, consent and suitability. Counselling is an important step that will support you to consider your motivations for donating, the emotional and practical implications of donating and the physical process of donating.
3. There are a few medical checks and tests that you will need to do. Once these are complete, you will attend our clinic to make a donation.
4. After donating your eggs or sperm, it will be held in quarantine for three months. Once it is cleared, it will go into storage and be available to patients.

Legal information and requirements

Making the decision to use donor egg or sperm, or becoming a donor is significant.

All donors must be prepared to have their identifying details (name, date of birth and contact details) registered with the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA).

These details can be released to any person born because of a donation. Anonymous donation is not allowed in Australia.

Counselling and medical health questionnaires, screening tests and other medical and psychological enquiries are mandatory.

In Victoria, a maximum of 10 families can have children from the same donor. This limit includes children with current or former partners.

People cannot donate their sperm or eggs if they:

• have a baby less than 12 months of age
• are currently undertaking fertility treatment, or
• have a partner who is currently pregnant.

You can read more about the rights of a donor and donor-offspring by visiting the VARTA webpage, I am a donor.

Donating to someone you know

If you are an eligible donor, you can donate eggs or sperm to somebody you know if they are a patient of Public Fertility Care.

To find out more about this option, please email DonorProgram@thewomens.org.au

Register your interest

Interested in becoming an egg or sperm donor and changing someone’s life? Please complete the Expression of interest form.