CAREFUL, exacting, high-tech – that’s the image US sperm banks like to project to their customers. They run limited genetic tests on their donors and trace medical records back three generations. They also screen for chemical exposure, drug use and even do complex psychological profiling.
Equally interesting is what sperm banks don’t do – and are not required to do by law. They don’t verify that all the medical or personal information that donors give them is correct. They don’t routinely test for the majority of known genetic diseases. They do not confirm that the sperm the woman requested is the sperm that ends up in her…
