Donations can be in money, goods, blood, organs and bone marrow.
But what happens when you mix heartfelt charity with a handful of
self-gratification? Sperm donation.
And college students are taking a leading role in this field in
China.
Nearly 10 percent of China's couples cannot conceive, with male
infertility being the reason for one-third of them. Experts put the
blame on pollution, work-related stress and unhealthy
lifestyle.
College students, however, have come to the rescue of many such
couples, even though sperm donations still fall short of the
demand, said an official of Beijing's only sperm bank. The country
has 10 such banks.
Myths such as "one drop of semen equals 10 drops of blood"
prevent people from donating sperm, said Chen Zhenwen, director of
the bank, affiliated to the National Population and Family Planning
Commission of China.
Thankfully, college students don't share any such belief and
"are more willing to help", Chen said. "Many of them are Beijing
Olympic volunteers."
Several hundred volunteers, half of them college students, have
approached the sperm bank since it opened in late 2005.
A donor's sperm can be used to impregnate five women, according
to the Ministry of Health (MOH).
"We donate blood and bone marrow, then why can't we donate
sperm. After all, it can help fulfill barren couples' dream of
having a child," said Xiao Wang (name changed). But the Beijing
college student hasn't told his girlfriend about the donation.
Most college student donors lead a comparatively healthy and
orderly life, said experts, stressing that they are among the best
donors.
Unlike what some people may think, sperm donation is not just
about walking into a place, having a pleasant five minutes with
yourself and handing over your happiness in a cup. One has to pass
tests for STDs and genetic and infectious diseases. And the entire
process can take a couple of months.
"It's a long and demanding process which requires great patience
and commitment, and the schedules have to be largely flexible for
the young donors," Chen said.
"A college student donor even paid his airfare to complete the
donation process after graduating from a university," he said.
Which means students don't donate only for money, even though they
get 2,000 yuan ($260) for a successful donation.
Chen asked students to be wary of "sperm hunters" on the campus,
however. Such people can take students for a ride. Students should
always verify the identity of "agents" before agreeing to
donate.
Sperm trade outside the 88 institutions approved by the MOH is
banned in China. And only these institutions can offer IVF (in
vitro fertilization).
Sperm donation should, however, be handled very carefully, said
Qiao Jie, head of the reproduction center of Peking University
Third Hospital, China's biggest fertility clinic.
"Evidently, it (sperm donation and IVF) helps complete a
family... but ethical concerns and the setting up of a sound system
to track the use of sperm should not be ignored. Or else, there
could be a tragedy of biological siblings getting married," she
said.
(China Daily July 30, 2007)