Sperm Shortage: Sperm donors decline as infertility rises

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The number of births in China fell by two million in 2018. The one child policy may be over, but many couples feel they simply can't afford another child. Others are struggling to have their first baby due to infertility. One solution is sperm donors, but demand is far outstripping supply. Yang Jinghao reports.

This is a new experience for Zhang Jun. The 21-year-old university student in Sichuan Province has decided to donate his sperm. The whole process, including tests for suitability and HIV takes about 10 months to complete.

ZHANG JUN UNIVERSITY STUDENT "I learnt about sperm donation by accident on the Internet. After looking into it more, I realized it's an act of kindness that can help families with reproductive problems. So I thought, why not give it a try?"

Zhang is just one of a small minority of people willing to be donors. Many people are ill-informed.

"Like many others, I'm not completely against it, but I still need some time to accept it because of health and privacy concerns."

"I think it's an issue of social ethics. For example, if the child wants to meet its biological father in the future and come to me, that would be a trouble."

In 2018, the Sichuan Human Sperm Bank had only 800 volunteers, down from 1,400 the previous year.

And Sichuan is not alone. Neighboring Shaanxi Province experienced an even sharper drop of about 60 percent.

And what makes the situation more serious – data from different centers nationwide show only 15 to 20 percent of the semen collected made the grade.

Li Fuping, director of the Sichuan sperm bank, said this can be attributed to various factors.

LI FUPING, DIRECTOR SICHUAN HUMAN SPERM BANK "A major reason is that there is relatively high criteria for the donated sperm, which is assessed by various indicators. Meanwhile, people today live in a faster pace. Increasing work stress and unhealthy lifestyle can affect the quality of the sperm."

YANG JINGHAO CHENGDU "Contrary to the declining number of eligible donors, demand for sperm is soaring as infertility problems worsen. And the gap has widened since China relaxed its decades-long family planning policy."

The Sichuan sperm bank says its demand has risen by 15 percent in the past two years. But Li says applicants may have to wait longer if the dilemma continues.

LI FUPING, DIRECTOR SICHUAN HUMAN SPERM BANK "We need to do a lot more work to educate the public on reproductive health through different channels. That way, hopefully, we can overcome longstanding misgivings."

China now has more than 20 sperm banks in cities around the country and more are expected. But for now there simply isn't enough of their product to go around.

Yang Jinghao, CGTN, Chengdu, Sichuan Province.