ABERDONIANS are proving to be the lifeblood of the nation by leading the way in tackling Scotland's fertility crisis.
Scores of men and women from the area have offered to donate their sperm and eggs to childless couples.
A total of 62 Aberdonians have volunteered to become donors after a desperate appeal by doctors to help infertile couples have babies.
Fer
tility services have struggled to encourage potential sperm and egg donors after new laws were introduced removing their right to anonymity.
At one point last year Scotland had just one active sperm donor and there are currently just six. Some couples face a five-year wait for NHS treatment.
But a public appeal for donors has attracted 32 men and 30 women interested in doing their bit to boost Scotland's flagging population figures. And these donors could be used to help couples across Scotland.
Last month, NHS Grampian appealed to locals to consider donating their sperm and eggs because it had 40 infertile couples on its waiting list desperate to have a baby and just two donors on its books.
Doctors appealed for "fit and healthy" men aged 18-45 and women aged 18-35 to consider becoming volunteers, ideally those who had completed their own families and felt able to help others. They also spelled out the new rules that allow donors to one day be traced by their offspring.
So far, just three weeks into the appeal, 62 people have come forward and expressed their interest in joining up to the service as donors.
Yesterday, a spokesman for NHS Grampian said it was delighted with the response.
The spokesman said: "We have had 32 men and 30 women responding to the appeal. The next step is to get them in for a consultation to see if they would be suitable for donation."
The spokesman added that all the couples on the waiting list for treatment at the Aberdeen Fertility Clinic would be given priority for treatment. However the NHS board may consider giving extra donations to other Scottish clinics.
Last night the development was welcomed by fertility campaigners.
Susan Seenan, spokeswoman for Infertility Network Scotland urged even more potential donors to come forward.
She said: "We welcomed this appeal and we are delighted that so many people have come forward. There are lots of couples out there waiting for treatment."
Infertility levels are at an unprecedented high as more and more women put off having children until later in life because of career, financial or lifestyle choices.
But Scotland's fertility treatment services hit a crisis after the law on sperm donation changed in April 2005.
The law change meant children conceived using donor eggs or sperm will be able to trace their biological parent when they reach 18.
Although NHS Tayside currently has six local donors, Scotland's remaining fertility clinics in Edinburgh and Glasgow currently import donations from London clinics.
British clinics are occasionally forced to import sperm from abroad but must only use countries such as Denmark whose systems for tracing samples have been approved by the HFEA. Currently no Scottish hospital imports samples from overseas.
A spokeswoman for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates Britain's fertility clinics, said clinics often shared egg and sperm donations.
She added: "Egg and sperm donors are not area specific and donations could be used in other clinics as many do not have the facilities to provide the service themselves."
Sperm and egg donors are not paid, except for expenses.
Nearly 2,000 children are born every year in the UK using donated eggs, sperm or embryos.
