Men between the ages of 20 and 40, at least 1.7 meters (5.57 feet) tall, with clean habits, no viral or hereditary disorders, and no significant hair loss are sought.
That was the request made on Friday by a Beijing-based non-profit sperm bank on its social media account in its search for donors to help couples conceive.
According to the sperm bank, “The infertility rates of married couples in Beijing Tianjin and Beijing is as high at 15%, and 40% are owing to difficulties with sperm.”
It stated couples in need of sperm donations would have to wait up to two years, and it urged university students to give in exchange for payments of up to 5,000 yuan (US$732).
The applicant would need to undergo a medical assessment. Those who are qualified would then make 5-10 donations.
The sperm bank is appealing for donations as China experiences its first population decline in 60 years and an unprecedented low birth rate,
A sperm bank in Shaanxi posted an online offer on Thursday stating that donors could receive free medical checks, including semen analysis and chromosome testing. They also offered screening for genetic or infectious diseases.
According to a sperm bank located in Shandong province, they can freeze and store donor sperm for up to 10 years. These samples can then be used whenever necessary.
According to the publication, because the sperm had to be maintained at ultra-low temperatures, it had to fulfill stringent criteria, and only 20% of the volunteers passed.
“A competent volunteer requires three times the sperm concentration of the average guy. “Many guys have difficult lives, and the majority do not qualify,” a staff member at a sperm bank in Shaanxi was cited as saying in the paper.
Research has shown that donor sperm quality has decreased over the past several decades.
Chinese researchers found that the quality of sperm in young Chinese men has declined over the past 15 years. This was especially true for sperm concentration, total number, and normal morphology.
From 2001 to 2015, the study screened and analyzed more than 70,000 samples from 30,636 healthy Chinese males, marking the first time in China that the sperm quality of a large population was studied in the same laboratory over a lengthy period of time.
According to the authors, the number of donors eligible for donation declined from 55.78% in 2001 down to 17.88% by 2015. The percentage of sperm that conforms to normal morphology decreased from 31.8 percent to 31.8. percent to 10.8 percent over the same time period.
China may not be the only country experiencing a decline in sperm quality. According to a 2022 study in Human Reproduction Update, sperm count has fallen by half over the past 50 years.
Researchers discovered that sperm counts decreased by more than 1 percent every year between 1973-2018, with the global average sperm count dropping by 52% in 2018.
The study has been disputed by other experts who claim that the data is not adequate.
Officials in China are trying to increase China’s birth rate. Yang Wenzhuang is the head of the Department of Population Surveillance and Family Development of the National Health Commission. He has urged authorities to speed up the implementation of fertility-promoting programs.
Yang stressed in the current issue, a state-backed journal on health, that infertility was not the main reason people have fewer children.
“The primary limits on reproduction are financial obligations, child care, and women’s worries about job advancement,” he stated.