Why Donate Sperm

The Standard Answer

As the environment worsens and people adopt increasingly unhealthy lifestyles, the number of families facing infertility is growing rapidly. Today, one in every eight couples of childbearing age in China has a fertility problem. Some men cannot produce qualified sperm, while others have genetic diseases that prevent them from having children. They need sperm from healthy men to help solve their fertility problems, creating a major demand for sperm donation. These families often suffer greatly because they cannot have children. In that sense, sperm donation is a noble humanitarian act, as honorable as donating blood or bone marrow!

The Real Answer

Pure curiosity; the possibility of storing sperm for future use; and the subsidy.

Requirements

The requirements are extremely strict. The basic requirements are:

But if those were the only requirements, sperm banks in China would not be short of sperm. There are further hidden requirements during screening:

  1. Volume must exceed 2 ml.
  2. Concentration must exceed 60 million/ml (below 15 million/ml is oligospermia).
  3. Motility (straight-line movement, generally indicators a+b) must exceed 60% (below 30% is asthenospermia).
  4. More than 30% must have normal morphology.

Procedure

Zhejiang Province is used as an example below. Information is available through the WeChat public account Zhejiang Human Sperm Bank.

  1. Make an appointment on the website (in Chinese).
  1. Go directly to the second floor of Zhejiang Maternal and Child Health Hospital to donate:

Subsidies

If unsuccessful

  1. Blood type measurement
  2. A 50-yuan subsidy

If successful

  1. Free sperm storage for 30 years
  2. Free blood tests for HIV, syphilis, and other diseases

PS: If someone referred you, the referrer also receives 100 yuan.

Reflections

One third of 2023 had already passed. More than 1,200 people had applied to donate at the Zhejiang sperm bank, but only 25% qualified. As far as I know, qualified programmers are even rarer.

Men’s sperm quality in China really is declining. A recent report (in Chinese) found a sharp decline: the average number of sperm per milliliter fell from around 130 million in 2005 to 67 million in 2015. The average percentage of progressively motile sperm fell from 56.5% to 51.6%. The report notes that sperm-bank donors are generally healthier than the general population, so these figures may still exceed the public average. Sperm concentration and motility are directly related to the probability of conception; fewer than 20 million sperm per milliliter is oligospermia, and progressive motility below 32% is asthenospermia. If the trend continues, the outlook is worrying.

Apart from objective factors such as radiation, the main influences I know of are staying up late, stress, prolonged sitting, drinking, and smoking. What a miserable list—these factors seem tailor-made for programmers.

To maintain good sperm quality:

Do moderate aerobic exercise. Scientists say at least three 30-minute aerobic sessions per week can increase sperm count, although the improvement is temporary and returns to its original state within a month after stopping. Excessively intense exercise can also damage sperm quality. Source: Reproduction.
Sleep seven to eight hours every night. Compared with eight hours, men sleeping under six or over nine hours have a 42% lower chance of conception in any given month. Source: Boston University School of Public Health.
Eat healthily. Eat foods rich in vitamins D and C, zinc, selenium, and folate, such as nuts, tomatoes, oranges, eggs, fish, poultry, milk, leafy vegetables, beans, blueberries, pomegranates, and dark chocolate.
Drink fewer soft and energy drinks. Men who drink at least one soft drink daily are 33% less likely to successfully conceive with their partners. Source: Epidemiology.
Do not keep your phone in your trouser pocket. Compared with a control group, men who often do so had 8% lower sperm survival and progressive motility. Source: Environment International.
Wear boxer briefs. Harvard research found that men who regularly wear boxer briefs have higher sperm concentration and total sperm counts than men who do not. Avoiding overly tight trousers follows the same principle.

Finally, according to the study Effects of Seasonal Factors on Semen Quality among Sperm Donors in Beijing, spring is the best season for sperm donation.