What is a "sperm bank"?

"Sperm bank" is a set of facilities for storing sperm for later use.

As early as 200 years ago, an Italian scientist observed that frozen sperm could resume activity. 1866 put forward the idea of establishing human sperm bank. This can freeze the soldier's semen, and once he dies on the battlefield, he can still get a legal heir. 1954, artificial insemination with sperm stored in dry ice was the first success, and a healthy baby was born. 1963, Sherman invented the method of cryopreservation of human sperm with liquid nitrogen (-196℃). At present, this technology has been widely used in establishing human sperm bank and embryo bank all over the world. For various reasons, China started late in this field. 1983, Hunan medical college succeeded in artificial insemination of frozen sperm for the first time, which filled the gap in China.

Why can sperm recover after long-term cryopreservation? This should be discussed from two aspects: on the one hand, at ultra-low temperature, the activity and metabolism of sperm almost completely stopped, but it did not die, but lived quietly like a hibernating snake. On the other hand, some cryoprotectants are added in the process of sperm freezing and thawing to master a certain freezing rate, so that sperm can be protected from physical and chemical factors during freezing. At present, the widely used cryoprotectant is glycerol-egg yolk-sodium citrate compound solution. Glycerol is an internal protective agent and egg yolk is an external protective agent. In order to master the freezing speed, foreign countries invented an automatic freezer controlled by a microcomputer, which can automatically generate different cooling speeds according to a certain program.

Let's talk about the role of sperm bank first.

The establishment of human "sperm bank" has played a positive role in developing family planning, treating infertility, improving prenatal and postnatal care and improving the quality of the population. The following are some key functions:

(1) is beneficial to carry out basic research on male reproductive physiology and explore new contraceptive methods.

(2) Before vasectomy, testicular tumor resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, men can store some sperm by freezing to prevent the child from dying and avoid the worries of not having another child.

(3) For couples with genetic diseases, consanguineous marriage, ABO hemolysis and azoospermia, suitable donor sperm can be selected for artificial insemination according to their wishes.

(4) Some foreign sperm banks collect sperm from people with high IQ and strong physique, such as Nobel Prize winners and excellent athletes, and then freeze them for artificial insemination.

(5) At present, frozen embryo technology has been developed in the process of IVF abroad. 1987, a pair of "fraternal twins" sisters of a British couple were born after a year and a half. They were fertilized and implanted into their mother's uterus at different times.

In order to store sperm in the sperm bank, men need to extract sperm under the guidance of a doctor. Experts say that every sperm specimen should be put into the specimen tube before collection, and then carefully and repeatedly tested under the microscope. If the sperm quality is qualified, enter the next preservation procedure, otherwise, the collected sperm is invalid.

According to Professor Pan, an expert in andrology, frozen sperm is the same as frozen human tissues. Sperm freezing is to put semen at low temperature, so as to cool sperm, delay cell metabolism and be in a dormant state, thus achieving the purpose of freezing sperm at low temperature.

Semen freezing is to suck semen and cryoprotectant into freezing tube and seal it. Put it into a program-controlled cooler to cool down, and finally close the liquid nitrogen tank, and the sperm will enter a "hibernation" state from now on.

Semen freezing is to suck the mixture of semen and cryoprotectant into this freezing tube with negative pressure, and then seal it with a chemical called polyvinyl alcohol rubber powder. Then put it into a program-controlled cooling instrument to cool down according to the set cooling program, and finally close the liquid nitrogen tank, so that the sperm enters a long-term "hibernation" state.

The cooling of sperm during freezing is a technical difficulty, because at the temperature of 0℃ to -80℃, the morphology and function of sperm will be destroyed, and even lead to sperm death.

In order to avoid and reduce the damage to sperm during cooling, sperm must pass through this stage quickly. Therefore, we should not only consider the cooling rate, but also consider the thermal effect of semen during freezing. The computer controls the program cooler to accurately control the freezing time and cooling speed.

According to theory, sperm can be preserved for centuries at-196℃.

Professor Pan introduced that the temperature in the liquid nitrogen tank is generally-196℃. Normal people's body temperature is about 36.8℃ to 37.2℃, and sperm can only survive 12 hours. When the temperature drops, the metabolism of human tissues and organs will slow down. At-196℃, the metabolism of sperm is at the lowest level, and it can survive for a long time after reducing metabolism.

Theoretically, these sperm samples can be stored in liquid nitrogen tanks for years, decades or even hundreds of years. It is reported in foreign literature that healthy offspring can still be cultivated after 30 years of cryopreservation of sperm.

One day in a few years, if you want to enjoy family happiness, you can take the sperm out of the "bank" and have a baby through artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization. If you want to have children, you can take sperm from the sperm bank. Experts say that frozen sperm needs to go through a rewarming stage. The thawing method of frozen semen should be based on the freezing and cooling method of frozen semen, so that it can quickly pass through 0℃ to -80℃ and the sperm motility rate can be well preserved. Then sperm and eggs can meet. Artificial insemination can be used, that is, the recovered semen is put into the wife's fallopian tube by artificial means, and a small life begins to be conceived. You can also adopt the method of in vitro nursery, put the recovered sperm and wife's egg into a test tube, and fertilize the egg after long-term culture. Then the fertilized egg embryo is sent to the wife's uterus for gestation. Of course, it costs money to insure the sperm bank. The monthly storage cost of a sperm bank in Shanghai is about 500 yuan. However, the state has no uniform and clear regulations on this.

The management of the world's largest sperm bank is lax.

Someone took the opportunity to sow seeds all over the world.

If somewhere in Asia or Africa, an out-and-out local family suddenly raises a blonde baby, please don't be too surprised. This baby is likely to be descended from Danes. With the help of ——Cleos, the largest sperm bank in the world, Danes are spreading their genes all over the world. At present, the company has customers in more than 40 countries and regions, and more than 65,438 438+ 10/00000 women have adopted their sperm to give birth to children.

Aarhus is a port city located on the east coast of jutland. Some college students in Aarhus are spreading their genes around the world through Cleos International Company, which is the largest sperm bank in the world, and its business is only one: accepting sperm donated by Danish excellent men at low prices from Denmark, and then reselling them around the world at high prices.

Most of the outstanding men who provide sperm for Cleos International Company are college students. Every day, dozens of college students from Aarhus and Copenhagen come to Cleos, and all they have to do is provide sperm to this sperm bank. After a series of rigorous health checks and sperm quality tests, these college students can "deposit" their sperm with the company, and the return is 250 Danish kroner (about 40.50 US dollars), which is not much for Denmark, which implements a high-income and high-tax system, but it is also a little extra money for college students.

"Cleos" will freeze the sperm provided by college students and then transport them to all parts of the world by international freighters. At present, the company has customers in more than 40 countries and regions, including Spain in Europe, Paraguay in South America, Kenya in Africa, Hongkong in China and the United States in North America. Especially in the United States, more and more people want a Nordic baby, so "Cleos" set up a branch in new york last year to cater to the customers here.

Blonde, blue-eyed, charming, sperm bank hottie.

Cleos was originally a street pet shop in Aarhus. In order to expand its business, it set up an office in the store to accept sperm donation and sale. The company's management attitude has always kept a low profile. General manager Orsio said: "At that time, there was a demand for high-quality sperm, but few companies could provide services. This is what we see. " Since then, the sperm bank has flourished in Denmark with a population of only 5.3 million. "Cleos" is one of the companies that strive to expand their business at home and abroad.

At present, sperm bank has become a hot industry in Denmark. First, the actual pregnancy rate of sperm provided by these companies is very high. According to the research of a local hospital in Denmark, the pregnancy success rate of sperm produced by this company ranges from 12% to 3 1%, which is higher than the average level. At present, sperm donated by Danish men makes about 1000 women pregnant every year in the world; Secondly, because the Danish sexual concept is notoriously open and free, providing sperm is nothing to them at all; Third, Denmark will still protect the privacy of sperm providers in the future. In recent years, many European countries have changed their consistent attitude towards the protection of this right. For example, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands have all amended their laws to no longer guarantee that providers can remain anonymous. Norway and the United Kingdom will follow suit in June and May next year. In the United States, there is no rule to follow whether to protect the privacy of sperm providers, so the regulations of sperm banks vary from place to place, and the privacy of sperm providers cannot be fully guaranteed.

For those children conceived by donating sperm, the laws of many countries give them the right to know their biological father. In this way, it is likely that after 10 or 20 years, children who find themselves born by providing sperm will come to the door, which will make young men in many countries reduce their willingness to provide sperm to sperm banks, leading to the shortage of sperm banks in these countries. It is for this reason that Denmark has formed a so-called "tourists looking for children" market. In Denmark, the market for sperm is about 40 dollars at a time, but in the United States, it may be as high as 500 dollars.

In addition, Nordic people are generally blond or blue-eyed, tall, and they are excellent people in some people's minds. Cleos does have many excellent sperm providers. One of them is high flyers, who is studying for a master's degree in physical chemistry. He is blond and blue-eyed, and his height is1.8m. He likes football, diving and badminton. He can play the piano and speak English and German. On the home page of Cleos, the names of the donors are mostly Thor, Avi and Jaynes, heroes who often appear in Nordic mythology. Orshaw explained that all the students' descriptions were not too bad. Although people don't fantasize about having a super baby, they always have certain expectations.

There are loopholes in lax management, and some people take the opportunity to "sow globally"

How many children a donor can have with sperm depends on the country where he lives and the country where his sperm is sent. Denmark stipulates that a sperm sample can be used 25 times, which means that a donor's sperm can give birth to up to 25 children. This figure is considered to be effective in preventing children from incest when they grow up without knowing it. In Britain, this restriction is even stricter. A sperm is only allowed to have 10 children at most, while the regulations in the United States are relatively loose. According to the regulations issued by the American Reproductive Drug Administration, a sperm can be allowed to give birth to 25 children within the living range of 800,000 people.

For companies engaged in international business such as "Cleos", a sperm can be exported to several different countries, so there may be more "descendants" of sperm donors. One of the donors' sperm gave birth to 10 1 in several countries, and he didn't know about it. This loophole is actually used by some people as a tool to "sow" the world. A 24-year-old college student from Aarhus University made many donations to Cleos. Under the condition of anonymity, he accepted an interview with a reporter and admitted that he had two purposes: one was to earn some extra money, and the other was to "spread his genes around the world and realize the meaning of life". "Cleos" company has refused to accept the donation from this college student. He said that as long as there is a company willing to pay, he will not stop donating.

Asian and African men who are developing rapidly and are busy expanding can also donate.

Although there are management loopholes, "Cleos" has a clear record of the whereabouts of sperm obtained from each sperm donation. Since the establishment of 1987, the sperm provided by the company has made more than 10000 women pregnant in the world. Of course, not everyone who enters Cleos company is eligible to donate. After strict investigation and testing, only 8% to 10% of the total can finally pass the examination. The self-esteem of men who fail the examination will be damaged, but the staff usually comfort them that sperm cannot be frozen, not that the quality is not high.

At present, the fastest growing customers of "Cleos" sperm bank business are single women and lesbians, and their annual demand accounts for 20% of the company's business, most of which are foreign customers. Although Denmark has an open concept of sex, the law still prohibits unmarried women from getting pregnant and having children by buying sperm.

At present, "Cleos" only accepts sperm donated by Danish men, and customers from African and Asian countries do not necessarily have blond children. Therefore, Orsio is also considering opening sperm donation centers in African and Asian countries to expand national business. At present, Olxiuo's customers even include people from the Middle East. In these countries, sperm donation is still taboo. "Some people say it is difficult to sell sand in the Sahara desert, but I say it is even harder to sell sperm here." Orsio's joke shows the difficulty of expanding business in this area. With the implementation of the plan to set up branches around the world, men in India, Asia and Africa can also donate sperm to Cleos in the next year or two.