As China's Population Declines, Young Men Are Being Urged To Donate Sperm

Chinese sperm banks are appealing to college students and healthy men to donate sperm after the country registered a negative population growth for the first time in the past 61 years. According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), China's population recorded negative growth for the first time in 61 years, decreasing by 850,000 in 2022. Officials have been trying to find ways to boost the nation's birth rate and have even urged authorities to ramp up the introduction of policies to promote fertility. 

Now, amid this, a Beijing-based non-profit sperm bank took to Chinese social media site, Weibo, to appeal to university students and healthy men to donate sperm. "The infertility rate of married couples in Beijing and Tianjin is as high as 15 per cent, and 40 per cent of them are due to sperm problems," the sperm bank said in a statement, as per SCMP. It stated that couples needing sperm donations faced waits of up to two years and it encouraged university students to contribute in return for payments that could rise to around 5,000 yuan ($732). 

Another sperm bank in Shaanxi province also called for donors. In an offer posted online, the sperm bank stated that donors could have free medical check-ups, including semen analysis, chromosome testing, and screening for genetic and infectious diseases. 

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A sperm bank in Shandong province reportedly said that they could freeze and store samples of the donor's sperm for 10 years, and those samples could be used free of charge when needed. 

However, different sperm banks issued different requirements for donors. As per Global Times, Yunnan's sperm bank called for donors aged between 20 and 40, taller than 165 cm, have no infections or genetic diseases and should hold or be pursuing a degree. A sperm bank in Shaanxi wanted donors to be at least 168 cm and said that the subsidy for a complete donation could be 5,000 yuan. 

Another sperm bank in Shanghai reportedly offered the highest subsidy of 7,000 yuan ($1,000). In Beijing, a sperm bank had the strictest requirements - those who did not qualify included bald, smoked, or consumed alcohol and suffered from severe nearsightedness and hypertension.