MORE than half of Brit blokes would donate their sperm to help others start a family, research reveals.
Currently, supply shortages means more than three in four contributions are from men overseas.
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A report by the Progress Educational Trust found two-thirds of people think the NHS should provide fertility treatment.
But a “postcode lottery” means nine in ten local areas do not offer the recommended three free rounds of IVF.
The study, which surveyed 2,000 adults, also found 53 per cent of men would consider donating their sperm to help infertile couples.
Sarah Norcross, Director of PET said: “Action needs to be taken so that men’s willingness to donate is not wasted.
“The ability to access donor sperm through a licensed clinic is particularly important given the increase in the use of unregulated online donations which have resulted in women being exposed to unnecessary risks such as STIs and having children born with genetic conditions.
“As a third of infertility is down to men sperm donation is often a crucial step in helping family building journeys.”
Leading sperm expert Allan Pacey, Professor of Andrology at Sheffield University, said: “Importing sperm from regulated sperm banks outside the UK is a perfectly safe and lawful solution to the UK’s sperm shortages.
“However, it does suggest the UK has a structural problem in its donor recruitment infrastructure given that so many men in this survey would consider donating sperm, yet don’t seem to do so.”
Up to one in six couples struggle to conceive.
But 89.9 per cent of local NHS bodies do not offer the recommended three full IVF cycles to women under 40.