China reforms laws governing sperm donation and use

0 Comments | Asian Political News, March 12, 2001

BEIJING, March 9 Kyodo

China will shore up laws governing artificial insemination and the collection of human sperm, state media reported Friday.

''Problems have arisen in the past,'' said one urologist with Beijing Medical University.

In the absence of regulations governing the procedure, private clinics would often disregard standard health precautions, said the doctor, who asked to be only called by his surname Ding.

''When people don't get health checks, or when they start selling their sperm just to make money, that can create messy problems,'' Ding said in a telephone interview.

Some regulations were established in 1988 concerning artificial insemination, six years after the practice became accepted in China for couples who could not naturally conceive.

But that set of rules proved inadequate. Because of new technologies making it easier to get into the business, collection ''has not been well regulated over recent years,'' the official China Daily said Friday.

But new laws will put an end to profiteering in the sperm trade, the newspaper said, quoting Health Ministry sources.

Beginning Aug. 1, all sperm banks not approved by the ministry will be put out of business, the article said.

The new regulations will also subject donors to more careful screening and will place restrictions on how sperm is handled, China Daily said.

Only contributions from healthy men between the ages of 22 and 45 will be accepted, and files will be cross-checked to ensure donors are giving at one clinic only.

The new regulations also dictate that one man's sperm can be distributed to a maximum of five women, and each sperm bank must provide clear information on use to both donors and clients.