Chinanews, Zhengzhou, Apr. 26 – In November 2006, Henan opened its first sperm bank in the Zhengzhou University No.3 Affiliated Hospital. In five months, about 116 college students donated their sperms to the bank. However, only 17 students' sperms were regarded as qualified, the Dongfang Jinbao reported.
Not long ago, the China Medical Reproduction Association and China Animal and Biological Reproduction Association held the first joint annual forum on fertility in Hangzhou. At the forum, experts raised their concern about the declining of Chinese people's fertility.
Wang Xingling, director of the Genesiology Science Department at the Zhengzhou University No.3 Affiliated Hospital, also attended the forum held in Hangzhou on April 7.
She recalled that at the forum, many experts said that in recent years, some genesiology medical experts found through their investigations that compared with 30-40 years ago, the number of sperms carried by a man in per litre of semen has decreased from 100 million to the current 20-40 million.
“If the number of sperms further drops to below 20 million, it will be difficult for women to get pregnant,” Wang said.
Over the past few decades, both the quality and quantity of sperms have been on the decline, she said.
“From many infertility cases, we realize that for some men, their infertility problem is congenital. However, the infertility problem of a lot more men is postnatal. ”
At eight o'clock, when it was just time to start work, the telephone in the Genesiology Science Department kept ringing.
“Everyday, we might answer at least a dozen of phone calls asking for information about artificial insemination,” Wang said, adding that in recent years, the number of people asking for information on this issue had risen dramatically.
“Many of them need help because they are unable to give birth to babies,” she noted.
Among all Chinese couples at childbearing age, there are at least one million of the husbands suffering from azoospermia. Their wives need to receive some healthy sperms in order to get pregnant, she said.
Apart from azoospermia, there are many other factors that cause some couples unable to give birth to babies.
