More healthy sperm donors needed, expert says

Experts in Sichuan province are calling on healthy men to donate their sperm to meet demand, West China Metropolis Daily reported on Monday.

Yue Huanxun, director of the provincial sperm bank, said men aged from 22 to 45, without disease or habits of smoking or excessive drinking, can volunteer as sperm donors.

Technicians at the sperm bank would first collect the volunteers' sperm for more than six months and then select those qualified to ask to donate, the report said.

The donors should provide sperm 10 to 15 times, earning a subsidy of about 200 yuan ($30) each time and an extra 3,000 yuan at the completion.

Because of traditional beliefs, many men are unwilling to donate sperm, the paper quoted Yue as saying. Yue added the majority of current donors are university students.