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Monday Mar 26, 2007
Giving a toss
It's always good to see charities being rude and offensive, so my initial response to the Give A Toss campaign was positive. The fact is that they are trying to encourage men to wank in a cubicle - there's no point being shy about it. So, posters of women in tight T-shirts emblazoned with the legend "We want your sperm", spoof news videos and an (admittedly terrible) online game all seem appropriate enough.
However, a campaign like this needs to be backed up by facts. And that is where the site falls down. Badly. There is a short paragraph explaining that "the decision to donate can have far-reaching consequences" but nowhere on the site can I see mention of the fact that a law change in 2005 means that donors no longer have the right to anonymity.
That seems to me like a fairly crucial piece of information, and The National Gamete Donation Trust, the charity behind the Give A Toss campaign, should be up-front about it.
In fact, on reflection I even find myself sympathetic to the arguments of those who think the whole campaign is ill-conceived.
*Olivia Montuschi, of the Donor Conception Network, a group representing 1,000 families, said: "I was very shocked. This campaign appears to promote the image of a sperm donor as someone who is not hugely responsible - the very opposite of the image we would like to see portrayed.*
Quite why anyone, without anonymity, would wish to donate is another matter.
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:20 AM ) Link to this post Comments[1]