Aim
This study was aimed at assessing knowledge and attitude to semen donation among male students at the College of Medicine.
Methods
A semi-structured questionnaire survey of students doing Pre-Medical Sciences, MBBS, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, and Medical Laboratory Science degrees at the College of Medicine. There were 180 respondents who took part in this study. Their ages ranged from 15 to 43 years with a mean of 21.21 years.
Results
A total of 130 (72.2%) of the respondents were aware of the practice of sperm donation for research purposes or the treatment of infertility while 50 students had never heard of it. A total of 86 (47.8%) students reported their willingness to donate their semen. The main motivation for wanting to donate sperm was to get paid. The leading factors which discouraged the respondents from donating semen were that the practice was either against their religious belief (42.6%), or that they were not comfortable with the practice of semen donation because it was morally wrong (50%).
Conclusion
Despite having the high level of awareness of semen donation among male students of the College of Medicine, more than half of them were unfavourably disposed to it. Public enlightenment through the mass media and correction of false notions about semen donation will go a long way in addressing this problem.
Key words: Semen, spermatozoa, infertility, assisted reproduction, sperm donation Article Language: Turkish English
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