More and more women in Europe are using sperm collected from Danish banks for artificial insemination. This is because Copenhagen clinics offer information on a wide range of donors and their profiles, giving expectant mothers a wide range of phenotypes to choose from. Euronews explained that the amount (and type) of semen collected by these facilities is not only used in Denmark, but primarily exported to other European countries.
While Danish sperm banks choose not to give exact figures on how much donated sperm they export, some Dutch fertility clinics, for example, say that more than 60% of their treatment is done with sperm from a facility in Denmark. Six out of 10 babies born via artificial insemination in neighboring Belgium have a Danish biological father. 20% of the donor sperm available in the UK is imported from Denmark. According to a survey by the Irish Times, 90% of Danish semen goes to other European countries.
The 37-year-old from the Netherlands applied to a Dutch fertility clinic and was given the chance to choose between a sperm donor from a Dutch sperm bank or a sperm donor from Denmark. Because of the wider variety of donors and more information on their profile, Kim chose the donation from the Danish clinic. “While centers in my country only allow you to choose four external characteristics, such as hair and eye color, ethnicity and posture, those in Denmark have a photo of the donor as a child, handwriting and the sound of the voice,” he told Euronews.
All this gave him an idea of the personal character of the sperm donor, which he thought was important to his unborn child. After several considerations, Kim selected a Portuguese-origin donor, which she found in the database of Danish clinic Cryos International, the world’s largest sperm bank. This was followed by the European Sperm Bank in slightly lower numbers, announcing that it has more than 1,000 donors, but it can boast such a wide and varied selection, thanks to branches in other parts of Europe, such as Cyprus or the United Kingdom. Kingdom.
This European dominance is partly due to Denmark’s long tradition in fertility treatments, with the important regulation in 2006 allowing single and lesbian women to resort to insemination with donor sperm. According to Annette Arndal-Lauritzen, CEO of the European Sperm Bank, this has not only opened up and normalized the discourse of sperm donation, but has also triggered a large number of births through this method. “More than 1 percent of all babies born in Denmark today are born with donor sperm. That’s the highest percentage of any European country. The fact that so many babies were born through donations really broke the taboo in our country.” Euronews. “It’s become part of our culture,” added Martin Lassen, Commercial Manager of Cryos International.
Unlike many other European countries, Danish legislation allows sperm banks to advertise freely, for example using advertisements on Instagram or Youtube. In addition, for every sperm donation, men receive a cash prize and a fitness membership. This financial award is especially open to students like Haldrup. “I get 40 euros for each donation and I donate about twice a week. This is an advantage for everyone: I don’t need additional work and I help others have children,” she said.
“Because of the large number of candidates, we have a lot to choose from. This allows us to offer high quality sperm,” said Arndal-Lauritzen. However, extensive health testing is done and only about 5% of candidates are ultimately approved as sperm donors.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
