China’s sperm banks are facing a severe shortage, and the government has now stepped in to fix the problem.
Recently, an article on a government-run website asked the Chinese men – between the age of 25 and 45 – to donate sperms and mitigate the country’s aging problem. “Show your compassion,” the article said, reports New York Times.
Sperm donation is now an act of nationalism in China. The NYT quoted this message from a Beijing sperm: “Donating sperm and donating blood are the same thing…It’s all about giving back to society.”
So just why has it come to this? These statistics and facts will give you an idea:
- More than 50 million couples are infertile in China, which is believed to be because of rising work pressure, social and environment changes, said a report by China News last year
- As per a government study in 2010, 12.5% of people of childbearing age are infertile, up from 3% in 1990
- Government is concerned that allowing a second child (introduced this year after years of one-child policy) will cause more shortage of sperms
- The demand is such that companies lure young men with endorsements from video-game characters and even iPhones.
- Getting men to donate sperms is a tough job in China as traditional Chinese medicine believes high levels of semen lead to more vitality
- Even when they do, around 55% of willing donors do not qualify because of inadequate sperm count, the study said