Frequently Asked Questions

Y factor is a family-building app, connecting private sperm donors and future parents directly, thereby making conception through sperm donation a more personal, accessible, and flexible solution compared to traditional sperm banks and fertility clinics.

Y factor was started by Ole Schou, founder of Cryos International - the world's largest sperm bank. With over 40 years of experience in the fertility industry, he recognised firsthand the need for a more inclusive and accessible alternative to traditional sperm banks. Ole founded Y factor in frustration about the many people who do not have access to the desired fertility services in their home country. Y factor is built to offer this alternative, through a platform that emphasises personal connections and gives users control through a transparent process.

Y factor has been created to make sure there is an easy, straightforward, inclusive and transparent path for matching people wishing to participate in private sperm donation. We believe that all people who wish to become parents or donate deserve a solution that helps them make this possible.

Y factor is for everyone, from solo mothers, LGBTQ+ couples and individuals, to heterosexual couples, looking for private sperm donation, as well as for sperm donors who want more transparency and control of the donation process. It's a solution for those who prefer direct, transparent connections with more control and choice than what is offered by the private solutions currently available in the market.

At Y factor, we believe our donors should reflect the diversity of the world around us. We welcome all kinds of donors who are willing to donate or are exploring the possibility of a donation, provided they adhere to our community guidelines.

After downloading the app, users create a detailed profile, outlining their donation preferences and wishes for their future family. We ask all users to add pictures or baby pictures, as well as information about their physical appearance and values, so people get a good sense of who they are. After creating their profile, users search and match with compatible donors or future parents, and connect via secure in-app chat. We also help align expectations on important aspects like post-donation commitment, donation compensation, and donation method, showcasing this on the users' profiles.

Transparency is at the core of Y factor, and we have seen the high need for this since we started working on the app and the potential value it can add for our target group.

The app enforces that users clearly state their preferences for donation commitment (expected relation after the donation), donation method (via clinic, home insemination or intercourse), and type of donation (free or with financial compensation). Our search and filter functionality helps ensure that users can match based on mutual preferences.

Clear communication and aligned preferences will reduce misunderstandings and misaligned expectations, and protect users from unwanted approaches that don't align with their wishes. We have enforced this because we see it is a challenge that receives much criticism in the private market.

Unlike sperm banks, Y factor does not sell semen or act as an intermediary. We provide access to a matchmaking platform and direct contact between the donors and future parents. Compared to bank donations, there are both benefits and risks to take into account when considering a private donation.

• Personal connection - Future parents can choose their donor based on interaction with them, not anonymised profiles. Donors can choose who they donate to and stay informed of their biological offspring, unlike in sperm banks, where this is a black box.
• Donor control - Donors get to be part of the conversation, controlling who they donate to and how many families they want to support.
• No waiting lists - Get started right away when you meet the right person.
• Flexible donation terms - Users agree on compensation, commitment, and method based on their preferences.
• Inclusive - No exclusion because you are single, homosexual, below 170 cm, at a BMI over 35, older than 45, adopted, have ADHD, your sperm level is below the good freezing level, or similar. No middlemen, clinics, or extravagant fees.
• No mandatory testing - We recommend that users get tested before exchanging a donation, but unlike the sperm bank Y factor does provide or are responsible for the tests being done. It is therefore up to the users to take the precautions they deem necessary.
• Parental rights - In many countries, private donors are legally considered parents by default unless formal agreements exist. This is in contrast to sperm bank donations, where legal frameworks typically ensure that donors are not held responsible for any legal or financial obligations. There's a great need for modernisation of paternity laws, so that they better reflect the range of family structures and conception methods present in our societies.

Y factor operates on a subscription model for future parents, ensuring affordability while maintaining platform quality. Y factor is free to use for sperm donors.

Y factor does not sell sperm or act as an intermediary. Donors do not get paid through Y factor, we simply aim to create connections between private donors and people looking for sperm. Donors and future parents can set their own expectations regarding compensation, and they might make direct agreements between themselves, but Y factor does not facilitate any payments for donations.

Many aspiring parents do not have access to the desired fertility treatments with donor sperm through the sperm banks, whether due to restrictive national regulations, costs, or waitlists.

With a limited supply of donors in the banks, women and couples might have a hard time finding donors that match their preferences, e.g. certain phenotypes, donor type such as ID-release or anonymous, or access to extended profile information. In some countries, single women and lesbian couples are fully prevented from accessing donor sperm through the banks. In other countries, future parents are denied the option to choose their own donor, and the selection has to go through their doctor. And finally, in many countries, the cost of fertility treatment and donor sperm is so high that it excludes many from fulfilling the dream of parenthood.

At the same time many donors are not able to or satisfied with the process of donating through the bank, due to regulatory limitations, hard requirements from the banks, or the complexity of the process.

Donating sperm through the bank doesn't provide donors with any insight or decision into who receives their donations or how many offspring they help bring into the world. A study shows that 95% of sperm donor applicants are either rejected or withdraw from the process, most likely due to strict regulations and requirements on donors, furthering the donor sperm shortage.

Aside from all these challenges, many people simply prefer a more personal approach where they get to know the donor or the future parent they will support, and stay in control over the donation.

Examples of national regulations that leave many without control and options for starting a family through the system using sperm banks:

• In some countries, you cannot get access to donor sperm if you are an unmarried woman or a lesbian couple. Examples include Poland and Italy.
• In countries without public health insurance (e.g. US) you might pay +$50K to make use of assisted reproduction, which makes it an option only for the well-off.
• In some countries (e.g. Spain, Belgium), your doctor will choose the donor for you.
• In some countries you might have to wait up to 2 years to get a local sperm donor of your choice. Examples include the UK.

Private sperm donation is already happening on an unstructured and informal scale. People connect through online groups and platforms, ranging from a few hundred subscribers up to 100,000 members.

Y factor was created for those who prefer the more direct and personal approach to sperm donation. We aim to match future parents and donors in a more structured and transparent way compared to the current alternative solutions available.

Yes, private sperm donation is legal in most countries, but laws vary. Y factor operates as a matchmaking platform rather than a sperm bank or fertility clinic. We do not facilitate medical procedures; we simply provide a platform for connection, and users arrange donations privately. We encourage accessing legal advice to ensure informed decisions.

The premise of private donation means that users need to meet at least once, and we strongly encourage getting to know the donor or future parent that you have matched with, to ensure that your expectations are aligned. In our platform, we do what we can to protect the user's privacy and do not share personal data against the user's wishes.

• It is not possible to guarantee donor anonymity, as widely popular and encouraged DNA testing means you can potentially be identified in the future, which applies both to bank and private donations.
• On Y factor's app, the user can choose to hide behind a nickname, whether to add photos of themselves or not, and how much information they wish to share about themselves.
• Participants in private donations in Europe have to meet in person at least once to hand over the donation, as transporting another man's semen is not allowed. This makes any degree of anonymity less achievable.
• The public opinion is pushing against donor anonymity, with the argument that the children have the right to know their biological origins, and it is better for their mental health.
• We recommend that post-donation preferences be captured in both user interactions and donation agreements, so expectations and intentions are aligned.

Y factor offers a different solution to a sperm bank, aimed at those who are looking for more personal, accessible alternatives. It is not the right solution for everyone, but we believe that direct contact can add value for all parties involved, including future parents, donors, and any children conceived through the donation. Many future parents dislike the anonymised e-commerce bank experience. They want to meet the person behind, to decide if this is who they want as a donor for their new baby. Some may want to build a connection or a co-parenting relationship.

There is no universal number defined as too many offspring, and Y factor does not put a maximum number on how many families a donor can help. That being said, we encourage ethical practices when it comes to sperm donation. Read our article on “What is ethical sperm donation?” if you're curious to learn more about our considerations on this topic. We recommend that future parents ask donors about previous donations to be well informed before entering into a donation agreement. What we do know is that:

• There is no legal limit on how many offspring a man can have privately.
• Some countries have put a national limit on children conceived per sperm bank donor to reduce the risk of consanguinity, and to not have too many unaware half-siblings in close proximity to each other. However, with sperm export allowed in many places, that means one donor can be used for 12 children in Denmark, 10 in the UK, 12 in Sweden, 8 in Switzerland, 10 in France, and so on.
• If parents do not tell their children that they were conceived with the help of a sperm donor, the risk of consanguinity is there, regardless of whether the sperm donor is chosen in a sperm bank or privately.
• Unlike sperm banks, where donors have little to no control over how many times their sperm is used, Y factor allows donors to personally decide how many families they donate to. This helps ensure responsible family planning and gives donors and future parents more control over their choices.

We believe the stigma around private sperm donation largely stems from a lack of structure, transparency, and mainstream representation. At Y factor, we're working to change that. Every day, thousands of people connect privately to find donors.

By creating a safe, respectful, and user-driven platform, Y factor aims to bring legitimacy and clarity to private sperm donation. Our app enables users to make informed decisions, communicate openly, and set clear expectations, whether you're a donor or someone hoping to start a family. We believe that giving users more control and visibility in their donor journey will help normalise private sperm donation as a viable, ethical, and responsible choice.

We also work to normalise private donation by fostering open conversations, sharing real stories from our community, and collaborating with professionals who support alternative paths to parenthood.

Private donation deserves the same dignity and support as any other family-building route, and Y factor is here to help make that the norm.

Y factor promotes responsible donation by providing clear guidelines and recommendations for all users. We have also created safety tips that we share with users and encourage everyone to follow.

• Recommended health tests - Y factor strongly encourages conducting health tests for all parties before a donation. This includes common sexually transmitted diseases, and potential genetic carrier gene screening if a hereditary disease is known in the family. We recommend that our users request recent health documents before a donation is agreed upon.
• Recommended donation agreement - Even if a donation agreement is not a legally binding document in most countries, we strongly encourage users to draw up an agreement outlining intentions from all parties and consult legal advice before moving ahead with the donation.
• Match based on mutual preferences - In the app, each Y factor user sets their donation preferences. We match users based on mutual preferences, showcasing these on their profiles to allow for transparency.
• Inappropriate behaviour - We have an in-app reporting functionality where users can report profiles that don't follow our community guidelines or if they misrepresent themselves.
• ID verification - Y factor has added ID verification to user profiles, so both future parents and donors can ask each other to verify before proceeding with donations.

Yes, we strongly recommend that you get tested for the safety of all parties, whether you choose insemination or intercourse as a donation method. Testing is also advised for insemination, as pathogens can be present in semen. Recommended tests include HIV 1/2, Hepatitis A & B, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia (the most common STD). If possible, please refer to local health authorities or clinics for information on where to get tested. Please also read our Safety Tips and Guide for Private Donation for more information.

We have strict community guidelines and a reporting system. Users can flag inappropriate behaviour, block other users, and repeat offenders are permanently banned.

Unlike traditional sperm banks, Y factor gives future mothers full control over how much information they receive about their donor. Many users specifically choose private donors to allow future children access to their origins if and when they wish.

In the Y factor profiles, we ask future parents and donors alike to fill out their commitment preferences, ranging from donation only to co-parenting arrangements. This opens up more family structures, where the child has the option to get to know their origins.

Y factor does not conduct sperm quality analysis of donors before they enter the platform. That being said, most men will have a sperm count that can make a woman pregnant. If a woman or a donor wants documented assurance before choosing to proceed with the donation, the donor can take a sperm quality test to know the sperm's motility, either through a doctor, sperm bank or with a home test. Y factor is partnering with Exseed Health and Cryos International to give our users exclusive offers on sperm quality tests.

In every aspect of family building and bringing a child into the world, it is important to act ethically, no matter if this child is conceived at home the old-fashioned way, with donor sperm in a sperm bank, or through a private donor.

However, the definition of “ethical sperm donation” will depend largely on who answers this question. Instead of a short answer in our FAQ, we have written an article on the different considerations that we believe should be looked at when deciding if private sperm donation is the right ethical choice for you.

The article covers topics from access to fertility treatment, legal rights, anonymity, health and safety, the number of donor children conceived, and donor compensation. Learn more here.

Y factor does not offer legal advice, but recommends all our users to talk to a family lawyer to understand the risks and implications, which differ from region to region.

To make sure expectations are aligned at the time of donation, we encourage making a pre-donation agreement.

Private donation in Europe is highly based on trust, so even with a signed pre-donation contract, neither future parents nor donors have legal protection if the counterpart decides to take them to court.

Current regulation in Europe gives an undesirable monopoly to the middlemen (clinics and banks), which forces people into the system if they want legal certainty, and in the end, costs society more money. In other places like California and British Columbia, the law is more developed, so private donation agreements are as binding on parental rights as using the third-party system. We hope that in the future, the policymakers catch up, so we can get the same legal protection for private donations as we give people who go through the sperm banks.

In most regions of the world, a private sperm donor becomes the legal parent of the child and can obtain parental rights and corresponding obligations. Despite this risk, thousands of men choose to become private donors without claiming their parental rights, and many prospective parents actively seek them out without demanding child support later. This demonstrates a clear demand for a more personal alternative for donations, where many are willing to take the increased risk.

Y factor highlights transparency and mutual agreement to help build the necessary trust between users. We help match donors with future parents, and donations are initiated with the parties setting their expectations beforehand.

We encourage all users to seek legal advice and document agreements to avoid misunderstandings, so the donation will be based on mutual consent and full awareness of the process and legal implications in their local area.