Seoul (The Korea Herald/ANN) - Student sperm donation has drawn controversy in China and debate has been raised as to whether it is moral to do so.
College students make up about 90 percent of sperm donors in China, Chinese news reports said.
An official at a sperm bank in Guangdong, southern part of the South China Sea, said that about 2,000 students donated sperm last year, making up 95 percent of all donors.
"It is hard to expect healthy sperm from stressed-out office workers. College students fulfill the qualification of sperm donors, which is young and healthy," said the official.
For this reason, sperm banks prefer young and healthy college students and the number of students willing to donate sperm is on the rise.
Sperm donors can earn about 3,000-4,000 yuan ($456 to $608). This is a relatively large amount of money for college students, and more than Chinese farmers can make a month.
The Guangdong sperm bank selects donors through medical checkups. Those who pass the medical test get paid 300 yuan for each donation. Usually, a person donates 10 samples, receiving about 3,000 yuan.
"It is hard to make more than 1,000 yuan even if you work intensely all day, but if you donate your sperm, you can get a large sum of money easily," said one student who has donated.
Another student said it was a meaningful job since it helped reproductively challenged families.
However, some netizens have raised moral issues over sperm donation, saying that it has turned into a way to make money among college students. Some also worried that the chances of incest would increase among children who, unbeknownst to them, were conceived with the same sperm.
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