Rs. 2,500 to 3,500 - that’s what a straw of frozen donor sperm is going to cost you once Cryos International, an international company that supplies ‘high quality’ frozen tested donor semen to more than 60 countries, sets up base in Mumbai and other major cities in India.The cost, of course, may vary depending on the quality of the sperm and clinic policy.Cryos Sperm Banks, India’s soon-to-open first sperm bank, boasts of a selection of more than 300 donors of different races and ethnicities and with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) allowing disclosure of principal religion of the donor to the recipient it only makes things easier for the recipients.Dilip Patil, Managing Director, Cryos International India Pvt. Ltd. says, “Cryos-India welcomes donors from all religions, castes, sub castes and professions and would not differentiate donors based on religious, economical or educational background. Our selection and screening protocols for donors would make sure that donors only with clear medical records, good physical health and excellent sperm quality are registered as donor candidates.“ICMR guide-lines allow disclosing principal religion of the donor (but no caste or sub-caste) to the recipient.”Essentially similar to blood donation, sperm donors, though won’t get compensation against each acceptable ejaculate and they also give consent not to have any distribution/transfer or exchange rights on such samples anymore. However, they can reserve entire or some part of their sample for use of their wife by paying certain maintenance charges.As far as sperm deposits are concerned, depositors would have to pay Cryos-India for medical tests, one time registration charge of about Rs 10,000 and an annual maintenance charge of Rs 5 to 10,000 depending on number of vials people suffering from infertility, this can’t be short of a boon as there is an assurance of ethnicity and we can also have a scenario of men donating sperms rather than creating havoc with it. But with an ever-increasing population, Indians will probably be better off keeping the storks away rather than keeping them busy.
