Chinese sperm bank urges male citizens to 'actively make donations' after 'facing semen shortage due to coronavirus'
- The fertility facility in China said they were in desperate need for sperm donors
- Its reserved semen could only help 30 couples who were hoping to conceive
- The number of volunteers dropped drastically due to coronavirus, the clinic said
- Doctor said only 20 per cent of the centre's applicants had good quality sperm
A sperm bank in south-western China has been in desperate need for male citizens to donate their sperm and help solve its semen shortage.
The fertility clinic in Yunnan province said that they were struggling to help wannabe parents after the number of volunteers dropped drastically due to the coronavirus outbreak, without going into details.
The problem was also heightened by the poor quality of semen as only 20 per cent of people were qualified donors, according to a doctor.
The fertility clinic in Yunnan province said that they were struggling to help wannabe parents after the number of volunteers dropped drastically due to the coronavirus outbreak
Sperm donation is used to help people start families when they can't have children of their own naturally – if, for example, a male partner is infertile, if both parents are women, or if the mother is single.
The Chinese health facility said that they could only help 30 couples with the amount of sperm it had reserved.
It has seen only 170 people signing up for the task this year so far, nearly 60 per cent less than last year when it saw about 400 volunteers.
Dr Li Wenfu told Pear Video yesterday: ‘[Sperm] from type A and type O blood are in serious shortages. We are urging charitable local men to actively participate and make donations.’
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Healthy male Chinese citizens, aged between 22 and 45, are eligible to become volunteers, according to the sperm bank. The stock image shows human sperm under a microscope
Healthy male Chinese citizens, aged between 22 and 45, are eligible to become volunteers, according to the sperm bank.
But people who suffer hair loss or severe short-sightedness are not allowed to contribute their semen.
Once selected as a qualified donor, the citizen needs to restrain himself from sexual activities for three to seven days before making the contribution.
The whole process would take about eight months, according to Dr Li. The volunteer will be awarded up to 5,000 yuan (£558) after completing the donation.
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