教甄◆英文科題庫下載題庫

(A) One thing that makes sperm such a profitable commodity is that the customer base is huge. The World Health Organization estimated in 2006 that there were 60 million to 80 million infertile couples worldwide. Thus far, most international sperm business has been for hetero-sexual couples with fertility challenges, but that is changing as more cultures accept lesbians and single parents—two groups that  11  by some estimates up to 60% of the U.S. market.

        America's ejaculatory exceptionalism is not a result of American men's superior virility. Rather quality control and wide product selection are the keys. What's more, the U.S. still always makes anonymity an option—and that's driving overseas customers into American arms. While anonymity helps the U.S.  12  this market effectively, it's the quality issue that really keeps overseas buyers flocking. Dads are profiled according to their height, appearance and education level. A man with a Ph.D. can make as much as $500 per ejaculation. Lower-end donors, who still need at least a college degree and a minimum height of 176 cm, can earn about $60 a  13  .Depending on how dense his sperm is and the mobility of his swimmers—critical to surviving the freezing process—a donor can make up to $60,000 over two years, the maximum amount of time most clinics use a donor.

        Sophisticated as all this seems, we are still in the Wild West phase of global sperm sales. Lucrative pay has raised questions about sperm profiteering. What's more, one man in Britain who donated for over 30 years has  14  more than 1,000 children. Such stories prompted Britain to restrict the number of children a donor can spawn, including his own, to ten. The FDA has no limits on the number of offspring a donor may have, nut most banks say they limit men to 25 or 30 children. That said, there's evidence that those guidelines can be loose. More worrisome, donors could be unwittingly spreading genetic diseases. Another risk—that of ethnicity mix-up for overseas buyers—is not just theoretical； it's happened. Finally, when a  15  donor produces lots of half siblings who grow up near one another, accidental incest could result.