Which Banks Accept Gay Men as Donors? Blood vs. Sperm, and What the FDA Actually Requires

If you searched "can gay men donate sperm" and found headlines about the FDA lifting its restrictions on gay men, check the subject: those May 2023 headlines were about blood. Sperm donation runs on a separate regulatory track, and as of September 2026 that track still recommends deferring anonymous sperm donors who have had sex with a man in the preceding five years. The FDA proposed aligning the two frameworks in January 2025 — but that proposal is a draft, and a draft is not a rule. So the classic anonymous-bank answer is still no. The bigger point most articles miss: the deferral binds anonymous donation, and known/directed donation is a different lane — which is why there are now real, named routes for gay men to donate. Here is what actually applies today, with dates, citations, and the specific programs that welcome MSM donors.

What actually changed in 2023 — and what it covered

On May 11, 2023, the FDA finalized its guidance on evaluating blood-donor eligibility using individual risk-based questions (Federal Register availability notice May 12, 2023; Docket No. FDA-2015-D-1211). The key language: "FDA recommends eliminating the screening questions specific to men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with MSM. Instead, FDA recommends assessing donor eligibility using the same individual risk-based questions relevant to HIV risk for every donor regardless of sex or gender." The same guidance recommends deferring anyone taking HIV-prevention medication (PrEP/PEP) from blood donation.

Read the scope line, though: the 2023 guidance applies to "the collection of blood and blood components, including Source Plasma," and superseded the FDA's April 2020 blood guidance. It did not amend 21 CFR Part 1271 or the 2007 tissue-donor guidance. The blood deferral's whole history — lifetime ban from the 1980s, 12-month deferral in December 2015, 3 months in April 2020, individual risk assessment in May 2023 — happened inside the blood framework. Sperm sat on a different shelf the entire time.

Why sperm donation is different

Donor sperm is regulated as a human cell/tissue product — an "HCT/P" — under 21 CFR Part 1271, whose Subpart C governs donor eligibility: §1271.75 requires screening for communicable-disease risk factors, §1271.80 sets testing requirements, and §1271.85(d) requires that anonymous semen donors be retested at least six months after donation, with the sample quarantined until the retest clears (directed reproductive donors are exempt). The regime took effect May 25, 2005.

The interpretive layer is the FDA's August 2007 guidance, "Eligibility Determination for Donors of Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products (HCT/Ps)". Its accompanying materials list, among the conditions making a donor ineligible: "Men who have had sex with another man (MSM) in the preceding 5 years (risk factor for HIV, HBV)." That 5-year standard has governed anonymous reproductive donation since 2005, and — as of September 2026 — it still does.

This is why banks phrase it the way they do. Seattle Sperm Bank's FAQ: "Due to FDA regulation, we are unable to distribute sperm in the US donated by men that have had male-to-male sexual contact within the past five years" — a compliance statement, not a values statement; the same FAQ notes it works with clinics outside FDA jurisdiction. Xytex's recruiting site (donatesperm.com) is blunter: "the FDA classifies men who have had sex with men in the past 5 years as high-risk and ineligible to donate sperm." Others just state the requirement flatly on the application: Repro Lab (NYC) and Fertility Center of California both require donors to have had "exclusively female partners." Two cautions: don't infer a bank's donor policy from its recipient-facing LGBTQ+ marketing (different things — Cryobio, for instance, markets to LGBTQ+ recipients but does not accept anonymous MSM donors), and don't read a bank's silence as permission — all US anonymous banks operate under the same federal framework.

Anonymous vs. known (directed) donation — where the deferral actually bites

The most important practical distinction in this whole area: the 5-year MSM deferral targets anonymous donation. FDA rules do not prohibit MSM from serving as directed (known) donors — donating to a specific, identified recipient, such as a friend or a couple who chose them. Reporting on the 2005 rule put it plainly: "The FDA rules do not prohibit gay men from serving as 'directed' sperm donors" (CBS/AP, 2005). Directed reproductive donors are also exempt from the anonymous-donor 6-month retest in §1271.85(d), though screening, testing, consent, and clinic involvement still apply. Some facilities formalize this: CryoGam notes the MSM ineligibility "may be waived with the correct paperwork signed by the attending physician and CryoGam" for directed arrangements.

State law layers on top — New York and California in particular add their own requirements. Any individual case comes down to a specific clinic or bank's eligibility determination under the applicable state rules.

The January 2025 proposal — real, but not in effect

On January 7, 2025, the FDA published in the Federal Register (docs. 2024-31523 and 2024-31524) the availability of draft guidances that would, if finalized, extend the individual-risk-assessment model to HCT/P donors — including sperm donors. The key draft states: "FDA also recommends eliminating the HCT/P donor screening questions specific to men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with MSM and, instead recommends assessing HCT/P donor eligibility using the same individual risk-based questions relevant to HBV, HCV, and HIV risk for every donor regardless of sex or gender." Comments (Docket No. FDA-2022-D-0464) were due February 6, 2025.

For context: the change has momentum but no finish line. April 2024 reporting (relayed from the Wall Street Journal) anticipated a final rule "by the end of 2024 or early 2025" — the draft arrived on schedule; the final rule did not. On September 12, 2024, six US senators wrote to the FDA Commissioner urging it to "revise the sperm donation eligibility guidelines and remove the ban," calling the policy inconsistent with the FDA's own 2023 blood reform. None of that changes the current rule; it just explains why a change is plausibly coming.

What this means if you're a gay man who wants to donate

• Blood: eligible under the individual-risk-assessment framework since May 2023 — the same risk questions as every other donor (some deferrals remain for blood, e.g. current PrEP/PEP use).
• Anonymous sperm banking in the US: if you've had sex with a man in the past five years, you are generally ineligible for US-distributed anonymous donation at every bank — it's the same federal framework everywhere, not a bank-by-bank choice.
• Programs that explicitly welcome you: The Seed Scout (known-donor matching) and MySpermBank (which has no anonymous option and states sexual orientation does not disqualify) both say so in writing. These are the clearest yes-answers in our dataset.
• Known/directed agencies generally: the realistic route. The FDA does not prohibit MSM from donating to a specific known recipient, and directed donation is a separate regulatory lane. Agencies like Growing Generations, Ivy Surrogacy, Coast to Coast, and The Genesis Group operate here — but several are silent on MSM eligibility (not the same as welcoming), so ask directly. Screening, testing, and clinic paperwork still apply, and state law varies.
• Non-US distribution: some banks (Seattle Sperm Bank and Cryos International say so explicitly) accept MSM donations for clinics outside FDA jurisdiction. US anonymous vials remain off the table.
• Watch the docket: if the FDA finalizes the January 2025 draft (dockets FDA-2022-D-0464 / FDA-2022-D-0467), this picture changes fundamentally. As of September 2026 it hasn't.

The programs that explicitly welcome MSM donors

Two programs in DonorIndex's dataset put it in writing. The Seed Scout, a known-donor matching service, says on its donor page: "Up until very recently, men who have had sexual relationships with other men within the last five years are not permitted to donate to banks. With The Seed Scout, we have always been and will continue to always be inclusive of everyone." Per a VICE profile, about 80% of its donors are gay. Its compensation is $5,000 per family, up to three families ($15,000 total), paid by the matched client rather than a bank, and not contingent on a pregnancy.

MySpermBank (Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia) is the other explicit yes — and notably it's structured more like a bank than a matching service, but it has no anonymous option. Every donor is Identified, Early Disclosure, or Open-Identification (identity released to offspring at 18). It states plainly that sexual orientation does not disqualify — gay and bisexual men are welcome. Pay runs $1,200–$2,000/month (roughly $150 per Open-ID donation, $175–$250 for Early Disclosure), and it also runs an Identified Donor (known-donor) program paying $5,000–$15,000 per family. The common thread with Seed Scout: neither distributes anonymous vials, which is exactly what puts them outside the anonymous-donor deferral.

Why the known/directed route is the path — anonymous vs. directed

The reason these programs can do what anonymous banks can't is structural, not rebellious. The 5-year MSM deferral is written for anonymous donation — vials sold from a catalog to recipients who never meet the donor. Directed (known) donation is the opposite arrangement: a specific, identified recipient knowingly chooses and accepts this donor. The FDA treats that as a different case — directed reproductive donors are even exempt from the anonymous-donor 6-month retest in §1271.85(d) — and the categorical anonymous-donor exclusion doesn't apply the same way. That's why the yes-answers all live in the directed lane: Seed Scout matches donors to intended parents; MySpermBank releases identity to offspring; the surrogacy-adjacent agencies pair a donor with parents who select them. If you're weighing this route against a bank, our sperm bank vs. known donor guide covers the trade-offs — known donation carries legal and interpersonal complexity that an anonymous bank abstracts away.