WHY NOT DONATE SPERM - A STUDY OF POTENTIAL DONORS

In a between-group study, men were much more likely to profess willing ness to donate sperm if it would be used solely for research purposes (67% yes) than if it would be used for reproduction through the proces s of donor insemination (24%), Offered several reasons why one might b e willing to be a sperm donor, men nominated ''money'' and ''helping o ut a couple in need'' most often and ''the chance to produce children' ' least often, whereas ''the knowledge that it might produce children that I may never meet'' was the most popular of several proposed ratio nales for not donating, These results are discussed in light of the sp ecificity of male sexual psychologies and the possible costs associate d with sperm donation, within the more general framework of identifyin g the circumstances in which men report the willingness to donate sper m. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.