The Human Sperm Bank of Shanghai is hosting a rather unusual competition for Chinese male students. It is, in fact, a sperm contest.
Why a sperm contest?
No, this isn’t about ejaculating the furthest, as in the Masturbathon. It’s a sperm quality contest. The aim is to promote sexual and reproductive health, and to recruit donors.
The contest began on 12 July and will run throughout the summer. Winners will be selected based on the number and motility of their spermatozoa. They will remain anonymous.
According to Vice, to participate, students must be over 165 cm tall, and must not have myopia of more than 5 dioptres, a genetic disease, or, of course, an STI.
The participants’ sperm will not be stored or used. But those whose seed scores well in the sperm contest will be offered paid sperm donations in the future. The Human Sperm Bank of Shanghai offers 7,500 yuan (approximately €975) to donors in exchange for their precious seminal fluid.
The average concentration is 15 million spermatozoa per millilitre of sperm, and the bank accepts donations from 60 million spermatozoa per millilitre.
The sperm donation process lasts six months. It involves an average of eight donations, but this number can vary depending on the volume of sperm collected at each donation.
In fact, the average volume of sperm released during an ejaculation is around two millilitres, and the bank needs approximately 20 millilitres of sperm per donor. Sure, if you do the maths, that should make for ten sessions of masturbating into a test tube, not eight. Presumably, the men who choose to donate their sperm have a more abundant ejaculation than average. However, other sources say between two and six millilitres.
A decline in sperm quality
There are 27 sperm banks in China. They are not authorised to sell sperm to individuals, but can supply hospitals treating fertility issues.
Over the past five years, the quantity of sperm has deteriorated, and only 25 to 30 per cent of the sperm donated to the Human Sperm Bank of Shanghai is usable. Another sperm bank, in Changsha, reports a drop in the rate of usable sperm from 45.9 per cent in 2006 to 17.9 per cent in 2015. This decline is attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle, a lack of sleep and increased social pressure.
