Explained: Chinese sperm bank’s bizarre contest for university students

A sperm bank in China is holding a bizarre contest – to find out which university students have the ‘highest-quality’ semen. The Henan Provincial Human Sperm Bank in central China is offering students cash in exchange for donating sperm. The development comes as China struggles to find high-quality sperm donors and in the backdrop of official data showing that China’s population shrank last year for the first time in more than six decades. But what do we know about this unusual sperm donation contest? Let’s take a closer look: According to SCMP, the bank launched the initiative on 10 September. “Due to environmental pollution and work pressure, the overall sperm quality has deteriorated. This has led to infertility in a number of married couples, bringing disharmony to their families and society,” the Henan sperm bank wrote on the social media platform Weibo. “Like blood, sperm donation is a humanitarian activity. It can bring good news to infertile couples. Therefore, we call on university students to donate sperm to make a contribution to society,” it added. The contest is aimed at finding two winners – the man with the highest sperm count as well as the one with the ‘most vigorous’ sperm. According to The Straits Times, the bank operates out of a hospital affiliated to Zhengzhou University,

There is no entrance fee to the competition.

However, university students must meet certain standards including being between 20 and 45 and being at least 5 foot 4 inches. They must also not be smokers, alcoholics, frequent drug users, must not be gay or have ‘promiscuous sexual histories’. Students must also not engage in sexual activities for five to seven days prior to donation. They must also maintain personal hygiene and have a shower before visiting to make the donation. Students can make up to 20 donations over 50 days. [caption id=“attachment_5824541” align=“alignnone” width=“750”] Sperm and egg freezing storage in a liquid nitrogen tank. Image courtesy: Oceanis Filyra[/caption] They will be paid up to 6,100 yuan (Rs 69,000) in total for their efforts. The SCMP said participants can get 200 yuan (Rs 2,309) for every donation. This is compensation for any expenses they incur including transport costs. Those who hit the 20-donation mark will get a bonus of 2,100 yuan (Rs 23,857). According to The Strait Times, sperm samples will be evaluated on

• Sperm concentration
• Volume
• Structure
• Motility (how fast sperm moves).

At the end of the contest, participants will also receive a ‘professional assessment’ of their fertility, as per SCMP. The outlet quoted a sperm bank official as saying that he hoped more university students would donate their sperm as their quality was ‘better than the general public’. The sperm bank also advised students to schedule their appointments. “The daily quota for taking semen is limited. Sometimes the quota is full, so we suggest the public make appointments in advance,” an official stated. As per Bioedge.com, the sperm bank announced the contest on social media with a headline playing on a Chinese idiom with a pun on “jingzi” – the Chinese word for sperm. Though the sperm bank said the competition winners would be ‘nameless heroes’, many on social media have already announced that they will enter the contest. While some have vowed to donate based on the number of likes they received, others have said they will make 20 donations in a single day.

A user even pledged to not take any money if he won in exchange for having his name announced across China.

The Global Times in February reported that university students in China can now donate sperm to earn money. The news came as clinics across China urged students to donate sperm. The nation of 1.4 billion has seen birth rates plunge to record lows as its workforce ages, in a rapid decline that analysts warn could stymie economic growth and pile pressure on strained public coffers. The last time China’s population declined was in the early 1960s, as the country battled the worst famine in its modern history, a result of the disastrous Mao Zedong agricultural policy known as the Great Leap Forward. China ended its strict one-child policy – imposed in the 1980s owing to fears of overpopulation – in 2016 and began allowing couples to have three children in 2021. But that has failed to reverse the demographic decline for a country that has long relied on its vast workforce as a driver of economic growth. “The population will likely trend down from here in coming years,” Zhiwei Zhang of Pinpoint Asset Management said. “China cannot rely on the demographic dividend as a structural driver for economic growth,” he added. “Economic growth will have to depend more on productivity growth, which is driven by government policies.” With inputs from agencies