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Dear The Hon Ryan Park MP,

I am writing to raise serious concerns about the current situation brought to my attention by ARTFam & ASMBC, facing people in NSW who rely on donor sperm to have a child.

The cost of donor sperm is now reaching upto $65,000 for many patients. For most people, this is simply unobtainable. Long delays and shortages are adding further distress. When the regulated system becomes inaccessible, people do not stop wanting a family — they look for alternatives.

Increasingly, that means unregulated donor arrangements through Facebook groups and online forums. These environments have no oversight, no enforceable limits, and no protections for women or donor conceived children.

There are well known issues with serial sperm donors operating in Australia, offering sperm both in clinics & in unregulated pathways with no regard for family limits, record keeping, or long term consequences. These unregulated donors often target women who are desperate, financially restricted, grieving fertility loss, or facing time pressure due to age or medical reasons.

The desire to have a child is a powerful and a deep human urge. In this context, people are extremely vulnerable. When regulation makes safe options unaffordable or unavailable, that vulnerability can be exploited. There are growing reports of coercive control, grooming, pressure for sexual contact, and sexual assault occurring in these unregulated settings. This is not hypothetical — it is already happening.

This is causing real harm to women and creating risks for donor conceived children that regulation is meant to prevent.

While I understand that national reform may be considered through an ALRC review, patients in NSW cannot wait years for practical solutions. The harms described above are escalating in real time.

I am concerned that the current regulatory approach, while well intentioned, is producing unintended outcomes:

• Costs so high that ordinary people cannot comply
• Supply shortages that severely affect mental health and wellbeing
• A growing unregulated donor market with no safeguards
• Outcomes that ultimately undermine traceability and child welfare — the very things regulation is meant to protect, In the best interest of the child.
• The creation of a national donor register that allows both regulated and currently unregulated donor arrangements to be recorded, ensuring traceability, visibility of family limits, and protection for both parents & donor conceived people.

I believe there is space for a more practical interim approach in NSW — one that protects donor conceived children, maintains identity records and limits, and keeps donor sperm accessible and affordable enough that people are not forced into unsafe alternatives.

Thank you for your time and attention to this important issue. I am happy to be contacted to discuss further.

Kind regards,

Dear Minister,

I am writing to you as someone currently trying to start a family, and I want to share the real impact the current system is having on people like me.

The cost of IVF alone is already significant. But the additional cost of donor sperm—now reaching levels I simply cannot afford—has made my situation feel overwhelming and, at times, impossible.

Alongside this, the waitlists continue to grow. The uncertainty, the delays, and the constant financial pressure are causing significant emotional distress. It’s incredibly difficult to feel like something as fundamental as becoming a parent is out of reach—not because of choice, but because of cost and access.

I am asking you to please consider a temporary increase to 10 families per donor in NSW, to help ease the current shortage and improve access for people like me.

This is a practical step that could make an immediate difference.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my experience and consider this urgent issue.

Yours sincerely,

Subject: Urgent Need to Improve Safe Access to Donor Sperm in NSW

Dear Minister,

I am writing to you as a mother of a donor-conceived child, and to share my deep concern about the current barriers to donor sperm access in New South Wales.

My son, James, is now 6 years old. He is everything to me. But I often reflect on the reality that if I were going through this process today, I may not have had the chance to become his mother.

The rising costs and growing waitlists would likely have placed parenthood out of reach. And that is heartbreaking.

What concerns me even more is what I am now seeing happen to other women. When access to regulated, clinical pathways becomes unaffordable or unavailable, people don’t stop trying to build their families—they are pushed elsewhere.

I have seen women contemplate, and in some cases enter, unregulated donor arrangements. These spaces often lack oversight, safeguards, and accountability. There are increasing concerns about grooming, coercive dynamics, and situations where women feel pressured or unsafe.

No one should be placed in a position where they must choose between not becoming a parent, or putting themselves at risk.

I am asking you to please consider a temporary increase to 10 families per donor in NSW, to help ease the current shortage and restore access to safe, regulated pathways.

This is a practical step that could make an immediate difference for so many people.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this important issue.

Yours sincerely,