Episode 223: Danielle Winston – Seed Scout

Danielle Winston is the co-founder of Seed Scout, a donor matchmaking agency reimagining how families connect with known sperm donors. A former lawyer who left the legal field after seeing firsthand the ethical challenges in the sperm bank industry, Danielle and her wife built Seed Scout to offer a more transparent, personal, and human-centered approach to donor conception. Since launching, they’ve helped hundreds of LGBTQ+ families, single parents by choice, and couples with male-factor infertility find donors who align with their values. Listen as Danielle shares with Ellen and Jenn: Why Seed Scout : Danielle’s own experience of a dehumanizing, “Tinder-style” bank experience lead her to build Seed Scout -- to provide a curated, relationship-based alternative. What’s different : Seed Scout has a majority LGBTQ+ donors; age 24+; background checks for donors and intended parents; require yearly child updates; medical-history refreshes. Ethics over scale : Hard cap of three families per donor ; no re-donation of sperm/embryos; families introduced to each other to avoid hidden half-siblings. Transparency beats anonymity : Real names, meetings before matching, and mutual approval replace one-way, anonymous selection. System frictions : Legacy FDA rules, quarantine nuances, and clinic pushback—especially where clinic owners are tied to banks. Future outlook : More open-ID laws (e.g., Colorado), rising donor-conceived voices, and pressure for sensible U.S. oversight. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Seed Scout: Follow Seed Scout on Instagram: @theseedscout.com Learn more about our podcast: Learn more about our surrogacy agency: Get your IWTPABIY merch here! Learn more about Ellen’s law firm:

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Episode 223: Danielle Winston – Seed Scout is an episode from I Want to Put a Baby in You! by I Want To Put A Baby In You.

This episode is 52:24 long.

This episode was published on Nov 12, 2025.

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