Website Data Policy

For the Personal Data Privacy, Protection & Confidentiality Policy, Click here.

Identity and contact details of the controller

In this policy we use “we” or “us” or “our” or “LSB” to refer to London Sperm Bank. The website https://www.londonspermbank.com, its pages and sub-domains are owned, run and operated by us, the London Sperm Bank, a registered company. Our principal place of business is 1 St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RY. We are contactable at this address, as well as by telephone on +44 (0) 20 7563 4305, or email: [email protected]

Policy Statement

At London Sperm Bank (LSB), we are committed to providing clear guidance and consistent standards in relation to personal, sensitive, genetic, and confidential information being handled safely, lawfully, and ethically, protecting your privacy, confidentiality, and personal information.

We process sensitive data, including donor and medical information, and we follow strict legal and ethical rules to keep it safe. This policy outlines what information we collect, how we use it, and the steps we take to protect your privacy, the principles, responsibilities, and relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be followed to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and to support fair and transparent treatment for all donors.

It defines the complete governance, data-protection, confidentiality, and information-security framework used by LSB and applies to every stage of information handling; collection, storage, access, transfer, use, retention, and deletion, across the LSB Website.

Scope

This policy applies to donors and prospective donors, clients using the Matching Service (including photo submissions), website visitors who submit enquiries or forms, contractors, laboratories, couriers, and IT providers, anyone with authorised access to LSB confidential information and all LSB and J D Healthcare employees, including those on full-time, part-time, fixed term, and temporary contracts, unless otherwise stated.

This policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information across all LSB services. It applies to anyone whose information we process, and to everyone working with or on behalf of LSB and sets out the rules, responsibilities, and governance requirements that apply to all personal, sensitive, genetic, and confidential information processed by LSB. It covers all individuals, systems, and organisations involved in website interaction.

Regulations

LSB has formulated this policy to facilitate compliance with its legal obligations under UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFEA), the HFEA Code of Practice, ICO requirements, LSBs DPIAs and ISO 9001:2015 information-security obligations and quality management requirements.

We follow strict HFEA donor anonymity rules, your information is kept secure and only used for clear, lawful purposes and we never use your data for marketing without consent.

How We Keep Your Information Confidential

London Sperm Bank takes the privacy, protection and confidentiality of your information very seriously. We aim to meet current Internet best practice and adhere to UK data protection laws.

Only authorised staff can access personal or sensitive information, and only when necessary to perform their duties. We use strong security measures to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure.

We protect your privacy by:

Confidentiality covers:

• Donor identities and anonymity
• Genetic and screening information
• Optional client-submitted photographs
• Counselling and support notes
• Billing and payment details

What Information We Collect

We only collect information we genuinely need to provide safe, high-quality services and meet regulatory requirements. Due to the nature of our services, you will be asked to submit personal information about yourself in order to receive or use our services. By completing our online enquiries forms, live chat forms or providing information to us via email or phone, you are giving consent for us to store and use this information to provide you with the best possible service.

We collect:

• Identity and contact details
• Medical, genetic, and screening information (for donors)
• Donor profiles used on the LSB website
• Matching preferences and optional photos (for Matching Service clients)
• Email enquiries, service requests, and call information
• Website analytics and cookie data

How We Use Your Information

We use your information only for clear, lawful purposes linked to our services and regulatory duties.

We use personal data to:

• Assess donor eligibility and safety
• Create donor profiles for recipient selection
• Provide the optional Matching Service
• Communicate with clients and respond to enquiries
• Manage gamete storage, release, export and import
• Meet HFEA regulatory requirements

We never use automated decision-making or biometric facial recognition.

Our services are designed to give you the information that you want to receive. These services include information about fertility related services, newsletters and competitions, live chats and information relating to appointments and your enquiry. We will also need personal information to help us identify you when you contact us. When we collect this information, we will only do so over a secure connection. We may combine this information with other information that we may hold about you if you are an existing customer or have made enquiries to us before.

If you would like to amend your personal details, please phone us on +44 (0) 20 7563 4305, or email: [email protected]

How Long We Keep Information

We keep data only for as long as necessary under law or regulatory requirements.

Typical retention periods:

• Donor records: Minimum 10 years (HFEA requirement)
• Matching Service photos: Deleted within 30 days
• Website enquiries: 12 months
• Financial records: 7 years

Sharing Your Information

We only share your information when it is necessary and lawful to do so.

We may share information with:

• HFEA (regulation and compliance)
• Accredited laboratories (screening and testing)
• Fertility clinics (screening and consents)
• Couriers for sample exports
• IT and secure system providers
• Legal or regulatory authorities if required

We will never share donor identities with recipients.

Your Legal Rights

You have rights under UK GDPR that protect your personal information and give you control over how it is used.

Your rights include:

• Access to your data
• Correction of inaccurate information
• Erasure (where legally permitted)
• Restriction or objection to processing
• Data portability
• Withdrawal of consent (for consent-based services)

The use of cookies

LSB uses cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, enhance user experience, and analyse site usage. Users are informed of cookie use and may manage cookie preferences through standard browser settings. Cookies are not used for profiling, automated decision-making, or marketing without explicit consent.

Cookie categories:

• Essential cookies (security, navigation)
• Performance cookies (analytics, traffic measurement)
• Functional cookies (website preferences)

Cookies help us:

• Improve website performance
• Analyse traffic (e.g., Google Analytics)
• Support secure logins and form submissions

You can adjust your cookie settings at any time through your browser.

What cookies are

A “cookie” is a small text file, containing an anonymous, unique identifier, which is sent from a web server and placed on your computer’s hard drive. Whenever your Internet browser requests a web page from this server, the server detects the cookie. Only the website that placed the cookie on your hard drive can access it.

There are two types of cookies. “Session cookies” expire when the web browser is closed at the end of each user session. “Persistent cookies” are stored by browsers and remain there until the sooner of their expiry date or deletion by the user.

By clicking the tick box in the pop up that you encountered on first using our website, you signal that you have read this Policy and that you consent to the setting of “cookies” on your computer or device as well as to their subsequent access.

Why we use cookies

We use cookies to help us to identify recurrent users and to analyse their use of our website. We use both session and persistent cookies on our website.

Analytic cookies

We use Google Analytics to produce reports of statistical and other information about the use of our website. The analytics cookies used by our website are:

Name	Expiry	Description
_ga	2 years	Used to distinguish users (top level domain)
_utma	2 years from set/update	Used to distinguish users and sessions. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and no existing __utma cookies exists. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics.
_utmb	30 minutes from set/update	Used to determine new sessions/visits. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and no existing __utmb cookies exists. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics.
_utmc	End of browser session	Not used in ga.js. Set for interoperability with urchin.js. Historically, this cookie operated in conjunction with the __utmb cookie to determine whether the user was in a new session/visit.
_utmz	6 months from set/update	Stores the traffic source or campaign that explains how the user reached your site. The cookie is created when the javascript library executes and is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics.
_utmv	2 years from set/update	Used to store visitor-level custom variable data. This cookie is created when a developer uses the _setCustomVar method with a visitor level custom variable. This cookie was also used for the deprecated _setVar method. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics.

Google Analytics’ privacy policy is available here. An opt out is available here.

Third party cookies

Our website places third party cookies, from AdForm, AppNexus and Captify, on users devices.

Adform

The Adform cookie is used to decide which ads to display (e.g. showing similar products to those you have looked at before. Instead of collecting information that would identify users the cookie contains a random identification number, opt-out or opt-in choice options, or information about campaign/advertisement activity on an advertiser’s site. Adform uses the cookies’ random identification numbers to collect and store information such as operating system, browser version, geographic location, URLs on which Adform displays advertisements, or facts about interactions with advertisements (e.g. number of clicks or views). Users can opt-out of cookie-based targeted advertisements using Adform technology for online behavioural advertisements, tracking of visits across domains of different media or advertisers’ sites through Adform technology and any type of cookie-based tracking by third-party technology through Adform. The opt-out process erases all previously collected data and places an alternative Adform cookie into the Internet user’s browser with special indication of an “opt-out” choice and with no other data.

More details are set out on Adform’s “Privacy Policy & Opt-Out” webpage, which is available here.

AppNexus

AppNexus cookies associate non-personally identifiable information about the use of browsers and devices to enable its clients to select ads for presentation to them. AppNexus’s Privacy Policy is available here. More particular information on Cookies appears in the box below.

Name	Purpose
uuid2	Contains a unique randomly generated value that enables the Platform to distinguish browsers and devices. It is matched against information (e.g. advertising interest segments and histories of ads shown in the browser or device) provided by AppNexus clients or other third parties and stored on the Platform. This information is used by AppNexus clients to select advertisements for delivery by the Platform, and to measure the performance of, and attribute payment for, those advertisements. In addition, to enable clients to use non-personally identifying information, they collect outside the Platform or acquire from other third parties. The cookie is sometimes matched to clients’ or other third parties’ cookies that contain such non-personally identifying information.
uuid2 (opt out)	When a user opts out of having the Platform used to select ads based on online behaviour, the unique value in uuid2 is deleted and replaced with the non-unique value “-1”. For more information about the Platform opt out, CLICK HERE.
sess	Contains a single non-unique value: “1”. It is used by the Platform to test whether a browser is configured to accept cookies from AppNexus.
icu	Used to select ads and limit the number of times a user sees a particular ad. It contains information such as the number of times an ad has been shown, how recently an ad has been shown, or how many total ads have been shown.
anj	Contains data denoting whether a cookie ID is synced with AppNexus partners. ID syncing enables AppNexus partners to use their data from outside the Platform on the Platform. (See our PLATFORM PRIVACY POLICY for more info.)
token	Cookies that start with ‘token’ are helper cookies used as a security measure with industry opt-out pages. They contain a unique value only to verify the origin of opt-out requests.
acb	Cookies that begin with ‘acb’ have a value unique to a particular ad and are used to indicate to the Platform which ad to show and to record the fact that such ad was shown, for purposes such as billing and reporting.
PHPSESSID	Used for managing sessions of visitors to the http://www.adnxs.com website, which is intended for use by AppNexus employees. This cookie is used for administrative purposes. It is not set by the Platform or used for advertising purposes.

Captify

The Captify cookie is used to collect anonymous data that records:

• Your activity on www.londonspermbank.com, its pages and sub-domains (such as the number of pages and products you viewed on the website and the searches you made there)
• Information provided by Captify’s trusted partners that may include socio-demographic data such as age range
• Events related to the Captify ad serving activity such as the number of ads displayed to you.

Details of Captify’s Privacy Policy and Opt-Out are here.

Personal information

We cannot ascertain a user’s identity from the cookie alone, because they are not linked to any personal information of which we are aware. All we know is how unidentified computers use our website and the pages they’ve visited. Should our website in future enable users to set up accounts that are referable to a person’s name, address, phone number, email address or other identifying information, any processing of such personal information will be subject to that person’s consent and undertaken strictly in accordance with the principles established under the Data Protection Act 1998 and any succeeding legislation. Any personal information that we store about you in this way may be linked to the information obtained from cookies.

Managing your cookies

Although most Internet browsers accept cookies automatically, you can usually restrict their use.

Instructions for deleting or controlling cookies are usually available from the browser Help menu. We’ve also indicated above how you may opt out of cookies.

Online support is also available. For Windows browsers, click here. If you use Apple products, click here. Further information on cookie management is available here.

The file names of cookies on this site are set out in this policy.

Please note that the deletion of cookies can impede the use of the websites that set them: for example, by slowing access.

Copyright

The entire content included in this site, including but not limited to text, graphics, or code, is copyrighted as a collective work under the United Kingdom and other copyright laws, and is the property of London Sperm Bank. The collective work includes works that are licensed to London Sperm Bank – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Permission is granted to electronically copy and print hard copy portions of this site for the sole purpose of placing an order with London Sperm Bank or purchasing London Sperm Bank products. You may display and, subject to any expressly stated restrictions or limitations relating to specific material, download or print portions of the material from the different areas of the site solely for your own non-commercial use, or to place an order with London Sperm Bank or to purchase London Sperm Bank products. Any other use, including but not limited to the reproduction, distribution, display, or transmission of the content of this site is strictly prohibited unless authorized by London Sperm Bank. You further agree not to change or delete any proprietary notices from materials downloaded from the site.

Trademarks

All trademarks, service marks, and trade names of London Sperm Bank used on the site are trademarks or registered trademarks of London Sperm Bank (LSB).

Use of Site

Harassment in any manner or form on the site, including via e-mail, chat, or by use of obscene or abusive language, is strictly forbidden. Impersonation of others, including a London Sperm Bank or other licensed employee, host, or representative, as well as other members or visitors on the site, is prohibited. You may not upload to, distribute, or otherwise publish through the site any content which is libellous, defamatory, obscene, threatening, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive, illegal, or otherwise objectionable which may constitute or encourage a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party or which may otherwise give rise to liability or violate any law. You may not upload commercial content on the site or use the site to solicit others to join or become members of any other commercial online service or other organisation.

Jenny Fautly

LSB Data Protection Officer