Sperm City, U.S.A.

n the sperm donation industry, an ideal city must unite several factors: a population base that is diverse and large, state regulations that ensure safe, high-quality sperm samples, and high industry standards that respect the anonymity of sperm donors and recipients.

More than any other city, New York brings these criteria together. In fact, it just may be the sperm donor’s capital of the United States.

Contrary to popular belief, university towns and cities do not offer the most fertile ground for a sperm bank’s growth. "You need a big population center for a sperm bank to grow," says Albert Anouna, the director and CEO of The Sperm Bank of NY, Inc. "The old story that medical students and graduate students make the best donors is false. These guys don’t have the time and patience, and because they’re stressed out, their sperm count is attenuated."

In addition to selling sperm, most banks strive to maintain biodiversity, Anouna says. At many clinics, as few as two or three out of 150 people will qualify to become sperm donors, so a large population base is a prerequisite for a well-functioning bank. New York offers both the genetic diversity and the critical mass of men that is necessary to make a sperm bank succeed.

Typically, men contribute to sperm banks for one of three reasons, according to Steven Augeri, a lab technician at Idant laboratories and at Repro lab. Some men just want money, he says. Others want to help infertile couples. "But a lot of guys want to spread their genetic code, like doctors and lawyers, people who think that they’ll make a positive contribution to the gene pool," Augeri said.

Due to the city’s large population base, an anonymous sperm donor may "father" the maximum allowable number of children through sperm donation, as established by the World Health Organization. This number stands at 10 pregnancies, according to Maengel Tolentino, a lab consultant for Idant Laboratories, one of New York City’s oldest donor banks.

However, some pregnancies that are achieved through anonymous sperm donation remain undocumented, according to Anouna. Sperm banks do not work directly with individuals or couples who want to become pregnant; the banks function as suppliers to fertility clinics. The clinics do not always hear from women once they become pregnant. As a consequence, sperm banks cannot maintain exact records of the number of pregnancies that occur though one donor. Anouna said that 20 pregnancies from one donor are not uncommon, and Augeri reported up to 40 pregnancies per donor.

So men who wish to father large numbers of children – with no strings attached – may find the perfect home in New York City.

Beyond allowing men to father large flocks of children, New York City offers sperm donors a distinct advantage over large West Coast cities: anonymity. "Ever since I’ve gotten into cryogenics, anonymity in New York has been the standard," says Tolentino.

It's common nationally that a prospective buyer requests as much information about a donor as possible. On the West Coast and in the Southeast, some purchasers request videotapes of donors and even personal interviews with them, according to David Towles, a spokesman for Xytec in Augusta, Ga.

Legally and emotionally, this practice may be perilous. "We are not a dating agency," says Anouna. "A video tape of the donor is not a building block for a relationship; rather, it only titillates the imagination."

Here, many purchasers of sperm, among them single women, lesbian couples and heterosexual couples, want their donors to remain anonymous. The thought behind this reasoning is that it should be difficult for the child, or for the donor, to find the other in the future. A donor has no legal responsibility to a child that his sperm sample helps to create. That's why most donors in New York City don't disclose their identity, even by offering baby pictures of themselves, Anouna says.

In New York, people who seek information about their sperm donors will have complete access to the information that really counts: the donor’s medical history as well as a written description of their physical characteristics. New York state’s regulations for sperm donation are the most stringent nationwide, and it is the only state that regulates the inflow and outflow of donor sperm.

State law requires sperm donors and their sperm to undergo a battery of screening tests for genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia. Also, the state requires testing for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, chlamydia and syphilis.

"Because of its regulations, other states look to New York as a model," Anouna says.