The FINANCIAL — Healthy men between the ages of 18 and 40, can make about 400-500 GEL a month by donating sperm.
The price of a donation in Georgia varies from 100 to 200 GEL. This price is set by the hospitals where donation is possible. A donor can donate just 4 times a week. It is not regulated by the law how many times it is possible to donate in the same country. But doctors do pay attention to one man not being able to produce many children and therefore only allow donors to donate 7 times. It is one time income and cannot be a continuous, profitable source of income.
As for egg donors, they are paid 1,000 USD and can donate 5 times a year. The difference between the amounts paid to male and female donors in Georgia is evident.
There is a great difference between Georgian donors’ income and European and Americans ones. In the Sperm Bank of California donors are paid 500 USD for every ejaculation that meets their minimum sperm count. The European Sperm Bank offers a minimum of 185 EUR for anonymous donors and 285 EUR for open ID donors. On top of that the donor service includes free ongoing health screening throughout your participation in the donor programme.
In Georgia the donation service has been operating since 1997. From this time donation has been legal and the law does not prohibit the payment of donors as it does in Ukraine for example.
To most people the idea of the practice is repellent, but to others – a fantastic idea that they have instantly jumped at mainly because of the monetary compensation attached to it. “Once I heard about a man who made over 16,000 over a four year period by donating his sperm. It was something that astonished me. And I decided to try it. I was paid about 130 GEL a time. I did not make a lot of money, but I did make some which was nice. Then I stopped donating because it was honestly too much effort for me,” said one of the members of a Georgian forum.
Baby photos, personal data, education, family and medical information, a full exam and several vials of sperm are part of the rigorous application process donors have to pass before learning if they are approved. A donor has to fill out a questionnaire on his talents, interests and general intelligence. After testing the sperm to check that it is healthy and viable, donors sign a contract to donate.
Sperm donation is a relatively new practice in Georgia. There are four hospitals (three of them in Tbilisi and one in Batumi) and one sperm centre that are constantly in need of sperm from donors to fill up their sperm banks or reservoirs. But there is no Sperm Bank; there are no official statistics about sperm donation and there is no law that determines the rules about donation. Besides that, there is no state programme connected to donation or In Vitro fertilization. So the Government does not finance these hospitals. The donation service is funded by the hospitals themselves.
As there are no defining conditions for the practice, this is probably the reason for Georgian men’s low donation activity. “We have about 10-15 donors a year. There is no requirement for sperm donating in Georgia. It’s not because there is no necessity, but it is because of wrong treatment. Doctors promise their patients that they can cure azoospermia, when really it’s incurable. Doctors must instead tell the patient that his only option is a sperm donor. The mentality of Georgian men is another serious reason too as they don’t allow their wives to conceive a baby with another man’s sperm,” said Mariam KuKunashvili, Director of Surrogate-Donation Centre.
Another reason why sperm donation isn’t profitable is abnormal sperm count or low sperm motility which prevents donors from getting money from donation.
Impairment of male reproductive health indicators in recent years has become more and more biased. Scientists have speculated that its reason is men’s lifestyle and environmental factors rather than genetic malformations. Gynaecologist Irma Tortladze says, “Oligospermia isn’t the only problem, but azoospermia too. The term means when a man is sterile. They are infertile. There was widespread public opinion that only women were infertile and it was only a woman’s problem. But both males and females have fertility issues. From my ten years of work experience I can say that nowadays in Georgia men’s infertility has increased more than women’s.”
As infertility has become one of the most serious problems of recent times, some men are looking at sperm donation not only for monetary compensation, but as a unique opportunity to provide assistance to infertile couples and singles who can’t conceive children on their own. The number of such couples is increasing periodically. Around half of the infertility problems encountered by couples are caused by male infertility. Statistics for 2009 show that 35,222 women and 1,681 men visited consultancy and reproductive health centers. Among them 8.5% (3,146 cases) were diagnosed with infertility. However exact statistical data on infertility doesn’t exist in Georgia. “The reason is that this problem is directly related to patient confidentiality. In such situations most patients do not apply to hospitals. They prefer to undergo a course of medical treatment with witch doctors or go away for treatment. So, how can it be possible to find any statistics?” states Nata Khazakhashvili, Obstetrics – Gynaecology Institute, First Deputy General Director.
Low sperm count or motility dramatically reduces the chances of the sperm reaching the egg. In about 10% of cases of low sperm count (oligospermia) the cause can be identified and treated medically. In the other 90%, the cause of low sperm count cannot be identified and is called “idiopathic oligospermia”. Doctor of Medicine Nino Museridze says, “In fact, it is impossible to cure oligospermia. Only the causes of oligospermia are often treatable. It depends on what the reason is. Smoking, caffeine, drug and alcohol consumption, and stress are related to low sperm count. Even a lowered intake of alcohol and tobacco can enhance sperm production.”
There are millions of questions about low sperm count in online Georgian forums. Many people prefer to ask problematic questions to doctors via the internet than face-to-face. Most of them refuse to consider sperm donation at all. They consider the process of donation shameful. They don’t want any child of theirs to be brought up without their supervision. Meanwhile many childless Georgian women are looking for foreign donors who look like Georgian men, as they have very limited possibility to choose from Georgian donors.
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