Vizag's Vicky Donors disappointed: Sperm banks shun away youngsters, prefer men with proven record

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Dec 3, 2012: If there’s a will, sometimes, there are no takers. That’s the situation with sperm donors in the city. Many, inspired by the Bollywood blockbuster Vicky Donor want to serve the social cause but local sperm banks and IVF centres are shunning them away.    

Youngsters after getting to know the process from Vicky Donor trouped to sperm collection centres to make “quick big bucks” and in the process, help childless couples.

Alas! The centres it seems, give preferences to those with a proven track record.

“We get many inquiries on a daily basis especially from college students and youngsters showing interest in donating their sperms. But we encourage only those having proven record of fertility and mostly in the age group of 30 to 45. In many cases we prefer only our panel sperm donors after conducting several tests,” says Dr Nirmala of Dr Rama’s Institute of Fertility in Madhuranagar.

With in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) fast catching up in the metros and Tier II cities, several clinics have come up in Vizag too, particularly in the last five years. Now, the city boasts of at least, half a dozen IVF centres, nearly all equipped with sperm freezing facilities to store samples. 

Post Vicky Donor’s release, the number of inquiries to the sperm banks- particularly from  those below the age of 25- have escalated, say observers. They add that the donors are guided by the misconception of ‘Quick big bucks’.

“It is a myth that one time sperm donation earns few thousands of  rupees, it is only Rs 300 to Rs 500. But certain sperm banks offer Rs 4,000 for 10 of high quality samples,” says a sperm bank doctor who preferred to stay anonymous.

Further, sources say, a donor should usually have high sperm count of over 60 to 80 million a milliliter of semen as 40 per cent of it gets lost when sorted.

Much to the dismay of the enthusiastic private donors, most sperm banks have their own enlisted donors. But that’s not dampening the enthusiasm of Vizag’s own Vicky Donors, as Dr Nirmala indicates. “These days we get email inquiries from prospective sperm donors. They feel comfortable in reaching is like this (rather) than approaching us personally or on phone. They contact us through our websites,” says the good doctor.