The shortage is so acute sperm is being imported from overseas, primarily from the United States and Denmark, The Independent on Sunday reported.

One in five sperm donations in Britain now comes from overseas and some counties, such as Lancashire and Northumberland, have no sperm donors at all, the British newspaper reported.

Other counties, like Cornwall and Shropshire, each rely on one active donor to provide semen for women with fertility problems and many clinics have shut down insemination services, forcing women to rely on the Internet to find donors.

Dr. Evan Harris, a member of Parliament and a Liberal Democrat, described the decision to end donors' anonymity as a "disaster" that will prevent many women from having children.