17 ml of sperm costs an iPhone and $1,000 in China

The value of semen in human existence was underscored when experts advised boys diagnosed with cancer after puberty to bank their sperm because of the high rate of infertility. Among healthy males, producing sperm is hardly a difficult task, whether done to release sexual tension without a partner or to donate semen to a sperm bank.

In the US, sperm banks pay $35 to $50 (AUD$47.60 to 68) per specimen, according to Spermbankdirectory, which makes the offer of a Chinese sperm bank in Wuhan the most expensive at $1,000 (AUD$1,360), plus an iPhone included as a freebie.

The high cost of sperm donations in the Asian giant is because of the recent end of China’s 30-year one-child policy. With the two-child policy officially in place since the start of 2016, the 17 sperm banks in China found their supply dwindling as demand from couples who want a second child, but need IVF assistance, ballooned.

Actually, producing sperm is what a lot of men do when horny and without a partner, but for Chinese men, it is one matter to release one’s semen during solo sex and another matter to donate it to a sperm bank. Several things prevent them from donating their sperms, although like other men around the world, they masturbate when alone and need to release sexual tension.

Because of the shortage, Shanghai-based Renji Hospital and a Wuhan-based sperm bank – which spearheaded the drive – used WeChat messaging service and challenged Chinese men aged between 20 and 45 to donate their sperm “for the sake of your country,” reports The New York Times.

China has about 500 million males in China, in theory, supply of sperm should not be a problem since all it takes is a few minutes to extract sperm the natural way by masturbation. But there is unwillingness to donate their semen to sperm banks because of Chinese traditional values linking sperm with vitality, while some believe donating sperm goes against Confucian values.

And of the few who have different set of beliefs and donate, half of them have their sperms wasted because of sexually transmitted diseases or failure to meet national semen standards. The incentives of an iPhone and $1,000 cash would be given if the men donate at least 17 millilitres of sperm over six months, reports Daily Mail.

VIDEO: Shortage of donations in Chinese sperm banks since the two-child policy