Aim: The objective of this article is to explore how Israeli Jewish women cope with the religious prohibition on sperm donation and the scarcity of Israeli donors, and to estimate the number of available sperm donors in Israel. Methods: A key word search was employed to retrieve relevant Hebrew and English sources; additional information was collected via interviews with two sperm donors and twelve donor insemination patients. Results: Rabbinical instructions focus on married women and refrain from acknowledging the growing number of non-married donor insemination patients. Non-married women follow the restrictions relevant to married women and hence refrain from purchasing Jewish sperm. Israeli sperm banks offer donations of Jewish donors whose number is estimated at a maximum of 140 and a minimum of 50 for the entire Jewish population of 6.2 million. In order to abide by American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommendations, the number of available donors should optimally be six times larger. The scarcity of sperm donors drives the private import of American sperm donations. Conclusion: Reconsideration of the rabbinical prohibition to allow collecting sperm for donating to women who wish to have a baby is needed for the sake of increasing the donor pool, along with measures to ensure donors' privacy and dignity.

1.
Landau R, Weissenberg R, Madgar I: Older single mothers assisted by sperm donation and their children. Hum Reprod 2007;22:2784-2791.
[PubMed]
2.
Mor-Yosef S, Schenker JG: Sperm donation in Israel. Hum Reprod 1995;10:965-967.
[PubMed]
3.
Carmeli YS, Birenbaum-Carmeli D: Ritualizing the ‘natural family': secrecy in Israeli donor insemination. Sci Cult (Lond) 2000;9:301-324.
4.
Ivry T: Halachic infertility: rabbis, doctors, and the struggle over professional boundaries. Med Anthropol 2013;32:208-226.
[PubMed]
5.
Landau R: Religiosity, nationalism and human reproduction: the case of Israel. Int J Sociol Soc Policy 2003;23:64-80.
6.
Mey-Ami N: A committee report to the Knesset. Sperm donation in Israel (in Hebrew). 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2014 from http://www.knesset.gov.il/mmm/data/pdf/m01527.pdf.
7.
Jakobovits Y: Assisted reproduction through the prism of Jewish law. Retrieved December 21, 2014 from http://ou.org.s3.amazonaws.com/publications/ja/5765/5765spring/Prism.pdf.
8.
Pinto-Correia C: The Ovary of Eve: Egg and Sperm and Preformation. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1997.
9.
Moore LJ: Extracting men from semen: masculinity in scientific representations of sperm. Soc Text 2002;20:91-119.
10.
Schenker JG: Human reproduction: Jewish perspectives. Gynecol Endocrinol 2013;29:945-948.
[PubMed]
11.
Grazi RV, Wolowelsky JB: The use of cryopreserved sperm and pre-embryos in contemporary Jewish law and ethics. Jewish Law. Retrieved December 18, 2014 from http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/semen.html.
12.
Hamilton M: Sperm donation in the United Kingdom in 2010. Hum Fertil (Camb) 2010;13:257-262.
[PubMed]
13.
State of Israel Ministry of Health: A list of sperm banks approved by the Ministry of Health (in Hebrew). Retrieved February 14, 2015 from http://www.health.gov.il/subjects/med_inst/sperm_bank/documents/sperm_banks_abroad.pdf.
14.
State of Israel Ministry of Health: Sperm donation - sperm bank. Retrieved February 14, 2015 from http://www.health.gov.il/English/topics/fertility/pages/sperm-bank.aspx.
15.
State of Israel Ministry of Health: Public health ordinance, 1940 (in Hebrew). Retrieved February 14, 2015 from http://www.health.gov.il/LegislationLibrary/sherutei03.pdf.
16.
State of Israel Ministry of Health: Sperm bank regulations, 1992 (in Hebrew). Retrieved August 9, 2015 from http://www.health.gov.il/hozer/mk34_1992.pdf.
17.
Public Committee for the Constitutional Regulation of Fertility and Procreation in Israel: A committee report to the Knesset: Recommendations of the Public Committee for the Constitutional Regulation of Fertility and Procreation in Israel (in Hebrew). Retrieved January 3, 2015 from http://www.health.gov.il/PublicationsFiles/BAP2012.pdf.
18.
Kahn SM: Reproducing Jews. Durham, Duke University Press, 2000.
19.
Cohlen B, Ombelet W: Intra-Uterine Insemination: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Daily Practice. Boca Raton, CRC Press, 2013.
20.
Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority: Fertility treatment in 2012: trends and figures. Retrieved February 13, 2015 from http://www.hfea.gov.uk/docs/FertilityTreatment2012TrendsFigures.PDF.
21.
Stechyson N: Part 3: Few Canadian sperm donors force couples to head south. Retrieved February 13, 2015 from http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Part+Canadian+sperm+donors+force+couples+head+south/8947753/story.html.
22.
Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel: Population, by population group (in Hebrew). Retrieved December 18, 2014 from http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications15/yarhon1214/pdf/b1.pdf.
23.
Hamilton M, Pacey A, Tomlinson M, Brison D, Shaw L, Turner C, Witjens L, Morris P, Brown C, Montuschi O, Adams J, Lieberman B, Speirs J: Working Party on Sperm Donation Services in the UK: report and recommendations. Hum Fertil (Camb) 2008;11:147-158.
[PubMed]
24.
Practice Committee of American Society for Reproductive Medicine; Practice Committee of Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology: Recommendations for gamete and embryo donation: a committee opinion. Fertil Steril 2013;99:47-62.
[PubMed]
25.
Erbil N, Alışarlı A, Terzi HC, Özdemir K, Kuş Y: Vaginal douching practices among Turkish married women. Gynecol Obstet Invest 2012;73:152-157.
[PubMed]
26.
Alsibiani SA: Use of misoprostol for self-induced medical abortions among Saudi women: a call for attention. Gynecol Obstet Invest 2014;78:88-93.
[PubMed]
27.
Puppo V: Can Female genital cosmetic surgery be considered or classified as female genital mutilation type IV?. Reply to: A. Ostrzenski: Vaginal rugation rejuvenation (restoration): a new surgical technique for an acquired sensation of wide/smooth vagina. Gynecol Obstet Invest 2012;73:48-52. A rebuttal. Gynecol Obstet Invest 2013;75:215-216.
[PubMed]
28.
State Comptroller Report: Violation of rules and a lack of control over sperm banks (in Hebrew). Retrieved December 15, 2014 from http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/ 0,7340,L-3397738,00.html.
29.
Indekeu A, Rober P, Schotsmans P, Daniels KR, Dierickx K, D'Hooghe T: How couples' experiences prior to the start of infertility treatment with donor gametes influence the disclosure decision. Gynecol Obstet Invest 2013;76:125-132.
[PubMed]
You do not currently have access to this content.