The United Kingdom is facing a shortage of sperm donors since adjusting confidentiality laws that now allow children to, should they choose, learn the identities of their biological fathers. The UK has also set a limit on the number of times one woman can use a particular donor. In 2006, the year these changes went into effect, sperm donors dropped from 325 to 307. Not terribly bad, but a significant drop from 503 donors in 1991. Experts are warning that at least 500 annual donors are needed to meet the require of couples seeking donations to conceive.

Some critics feel men should splooge into Dixie cups without worrying about some awkward meeting twenty or so years down the road and that women should dip into the same reserve as many times as they like. Mark Jackson, a 40-year-old sperm donor, decides he’s going to read porn in a clinic room with unflattering lighting to help make babies regardless of these restrictions:

“To worry that someone might come and see you, that something might happen? That’s a long way in the future,” said Jackson. “I thought maybe I (could) do something to make a difference.”

It’s a long way in the future, sure, but it’s not a small, long-term worry like, say, evading taxes. Have any of you visited a sperm bank* and are willing to give your take on these laws? The U.S. does not place a limit on donations and also pays donors - which makes it one of the few countries who are apple to meet demand for donations. But if this were to change, would it keep you from making or using donations?

*Truck-stop glory holes don’t count, guys.

U.K. Facing Sperm Donor Shortage [CBS News]