After a short introduction on the legal basis of donor insemination (DI) in Germany, a review is given of the psychosocial aspects affecting couples before DI, as well as the psychosocial aspects relating to sperm donors, to child and family development after DI, and regarding disclosure vs. non-disclosure of donor insemination to offspring including experiences with "open-identity donation". The article ends with demands regarding information provided to the public on DI, future psychosocial research strategies and the need for well-defined legal regulations in Germany.