Co-ParentMatch.com has recently seen a rise in the number of Indian sperm donors. This sudden increase in Indian sperm donors has been mainly caused by the influence of the recent Hindi movie ‘Vicky Donor’
A recent Hindi film has inspired youngsters — only males — to
put their raging hormones to good use.
It might be too early to say if the film on sperm donation and infertility has set the box office on fire, but it has surely set telephones in IVF (in vitro fertilisation) clinics in Mumbai and Pune ringing. There has been a sudden spurt in people wishing to donate their sperm and make a fast buck.
IVF consultants and sperm banks are expectedly happy because the “industry” that gets donors solely by word of mouth is suddenly finding its hands full. But on the flip side donors are coming with unreal expectations about the monetary benefits.
Dr Anjali Malpani, who runs the Malpani Infertility Clinic in Colaba, said she has received more than 60 emails over the past few days from men wishing to donate their sperms. “Most men want to know how much money they would receive; only a few understand that the entire process is lengthy and the remuneration isn’t too high,” she said.
“Donating blood takes only a few minutes. But for sperm donation it might take up to six months just to get an approval,” the doctor said. Men are screened for various diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis and STDs before they are allowed to donate their sperms. Most people lose their excitement once they realise they would barely get a handful of notes at the end. “No one can become a millionaire by donating sperms as has been shown in the movie. Sperm donors get only Rs500 per sample,” Malpani said.
“Curiosity to do it” too has led to a spurt in enquiries, especially from young college students, Dr Hrishikesh Pai, IVF consultant at Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital, said. “The movie has created a false notion that sperm donors can become extremely rich,” he said.
“The truth, however, is there has been no increase in remuneration since the time I started pracitising IVF. Personally, I think sperm donors are underpaid in India… They deserve more money.”
Dr Bharati Dhorepatil, who runs an infertility centre in Pune, said she too has seen the same trend over the past few days. “I think we started getting emails ever since the movie’s trailer hit the screens,” she said. “When films are made on such a subject, people accept it more easily.”
Dr Arun Patil, founder of sperm bank Medilab that has nine centres spread across the country, said he was happy that sperm donation has received such publicity. Indian law does not allow sperm banks to advertise. “We cater to the entire western region, which has almost 9,200 registered donors,” he said. “Mumbai has the highest number of sperm donors with at least 500 men turning up at the centre every month.”
Source: Alifiya Khan & Somita Pal, DNA 24.04.12