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Head of Herzliya sperm bank says sperm scarcity stems from higher demand, stringent health checks and overall decline in ‘quality of sperm among young men’ – which can earn them some NIS 700 a sample
Israel is said to be experiencing a “severe” shortage of sperm donations all over the country, with health officials citing a number of surprising factors.
Dr. Alon Kedem, director of the Sperm Bank at Herzliya’s Medical Center, tells Ynet that over the past few years the demand for sperm all over the country has skyrocketed.
“It is not as if we do not have any sperm left, but demand has very much increased over the past few years, which stems from more single women and same-sex couples wanting to have children,” said Dr. Kedem.
“At the same time, we see that a large proportion of the candidates who come to us to donate, fail to complete the task and become donors.”
He said that at the start pandemic, there was a large response among eligible candidates to donate sperm, which he said possibly was due to economic reasons since one donation could be worth up to NIS 700.
However, Kedem added that many of them did not pass all the necessary benchmarks, which include being unmarried and between the ages of 20-32.
Asked whether their standards were too high, Kedem said that there is no selection process, with physical features irrelevant and the waiving of possible donors was due to very demanding health checks.
He reassured that sperm donations in Israel are completely anonymous, but that donors run the risk of a relative finding them.
