A fertility clinic in southwest China has been facing semen shortages, and is desperately urging Chinese men to help load up their supply.
The shortage began after the clinic saw a significant decline in volunteers due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Weibo post by Pear Video. The health facility in Yunnan’s capital city Kunming has reported a total of 170 volunteers this year, a nearly 60% drop compared to last year’s record of 400 donors over the same period.
Among the 170 volunteers so far this year, only 20% were eligible to be sperm donors.
Dr. Li Wen Fu from the Yunnan fertility clinic said, “Sperm from type A and type O blood are in serious shortages. We are urging charitable local men to actively participate and make donations.”
Sperm donation is a way of helping couples who want to start families when they can’t have children naturally. This may include infertile parents, same-gender couples, or even single mothers.
Currently, the reserved supply of semen in the sperm bank is enough to only help 30 couples.
Healthy male Chinese citizens, between ages 22 and 45, are typically eligible to become volunteers. Yet individuals who suffer from short-sightedness or hair loss are prohibited from contributing.
The whole process typically takes around eight months, and volunteers could make up to RMB5,000 for their donations.
[Cover image: screengrab via Weibo]
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