Let’s talk about “it”

→ Sperm Donation is a topic, which we as a society still have a stigma to talk openly about.
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Yet, in Germany alone there are more than, 150 000 registered Sperm Donation Children and the tendency is growing. Because of the nature of the topic, many facts behind Sperm Donation remain hidden and rarely discussed, which leads to decisions realized way later in life, affecting essentially the most innocent ones-the Sperm Donation Children.
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We, however, believe that Sperm Donation is an amazing opportunity for couples in any colour of the rainbow or single women to be able to experience parenthood.
Our mission is to create a safe virtual space, based on blockchain technology, where Private Donations and Sperm Bank Donations can be registered.

A platform, designed to enable both donors and donor children to get a better overview of their genetic relationships.

Furthermore, a simulation in the onboarding experience with potential scenarios is intended to move the reflection process prior to donation, as this reflection process usually takes place after donation. The platform provides a space for secure information exchange and contact.

A crucial role in our research played the extended interviews with key stakeholders.

We interviewed donors, donation receivers, sperm donation children and even individuals, considering becoming donors or receivers. What we have concluded is that key needs are currently not being met. There isn’t a secure

Major Pains stakeholders experience

As a private donation receiver, the donation hasn‘t been registered anywhere, since we didn‘t use a bank.

-Donation Receiver

“To gain information about my donor, I first need to find out in which bank the donation has taken place.“

-Donation Child

“I have no idea how many genetic children I may have. It could be 10 it could be 80!“

-Sperm Bank Donor

“I just want to show the receiver that I‘m healthy without giving out too much private information.“

-Private Donor

“I would like to know how many genetic children the donor already has.  I don‘t want my kid to have 90 half-siblings.“

-Donation Receiver

“Donating sperm is not like donating blood. A human with rights and feelings is being born. It shouldn‘t be done after being emotionally prepared for it. “

–Donation Child

“I would like to know if the donors develops a medical condition later in life, which can be genetically transmitted.“

-Donation Receiver

“I donated with 19, and I realized what it means when I became a father myself.  Now I feel  I wasn‘t prepared for it.“

-Sperm Bank Donor

So what can be done to help?

01 Emotional Clarification

Support the decision of the donor and receiver by delicately confronting them with emotions, and situations  which may occur later in life.

02 Information & Support

Providing information about legal and medical procedures needed prior to the donation. As well as  current laws and where to find more support on the topics.

03 Digital Decentralized Solution
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A  digital solution for both private and sperm bank donations.  Depending on the stakeholder (donor, receiver, child) the tool should be customized based on needs and rights.

Simulation
‍The first step is a simulation with potential future scenarios for the respective target group. Donors, for example, can first reflect on what a potential future as a donor father might look like and which type of donation is right for them.

The simulation can be used interactively: The donor can choose whether to donate through a sperm bank or privately, as well as regulate the number of donations.

This way, potential donors can, for example, look 10 years and 15 donations into the future and thus get an impression of what the donation or several donations can mean.
Indeed, the role of the donor shows great discrepancies: While some view the donation rather in a pragmatic way, other donors are very keen to participate in the child's development. Thus, the chosen display type of the simulation also communicates a balance of neutrality and emotionality.

A genetic family tree

After the simulation, the users can register and enter their data. The central navigation element of the platform is the “family tree”  overview, through which all genetic connections are illustrated. It was important for us to consider donations in sperm banks as well as private donations in order to make it easier for the children derived from both donation types to find and contact each other.

As a donor, the user can navigate on a canvas on which his donor children are depicted as white spheres. When zooming in or selecting, more details about the children are exposed, as long as they have been shared. At the same time, donors can share information, such as their motivations for donating or updates on health data.

Anonymity, rights and safe communication
without overstepping emotional boundaries.

Donation Children, once they have turned 16, have the right to find out who their donor was. However, donors legally do not have the same rights. This can be a tricky and unsafe moment for both parties when initiating contact.
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The platform not only allows donation children to overview their genetic relationships and to establish contacts, but also gives the donor, or donation recipients (i.e. the mothers), the opportunity to contact each other safely. The contact requests and the provision of additional, voluntary information like photos must always be confirmed by both parties so that no (emotional) boundaries are overstepped.

How can we assist private donations?
→medical examinations, communication and trust

Private donations are initiated, organized and performed privately. The donor and receiver have their own responsibility to perform medical examinations and determine legal terms. They also can determine what relationship the donor can have with the receiver and child.

Currently, the children of private donations are not registered as such anywhere and do not have the same rights as sperm bank donation children. While designing the platform, it was our goal to make it open for all kinds of donations. One way it could be attractive for use for the private donations is the safe exchange of performed medical examinations as a security for the receiver. While the donor owns the detailed results of examinations, after scanning the QR code, the receiver can see only what the general results were and which examinations were performed.

Communicating data
→ an emotional but also medical topic.

The subject of sperm donation is on the one hand highly emotional and sensitive, and in contrast, a quite medical topic. The white bubble, which slightly moves, splits and new, smaller elements emerge from it, is the main design element. Through movement, three-dimensional appearance and texture, it is given its organic character.

The bubble symbolizes life, but at the same time it is abstract enough to keep the necessary distance in a simulation and to remain perceptible as something fictitious. 

People who use the platform give access to very sensitive data. While transparency is important, especially for the donor children, the security of personal data for users must not be neglected. It  therefore has the mission to provide transparency  in the design, and thus to ensure the trust of the users. 

A curricular project I worked on as a part of my masters studies.

→ 5 Months
→ 2020/2021
→ Worked together with Kim Müller, Jana Koßenjans, Paula Daues

Next project →