Fertility clinics: Lagosians make money selling sperm for N50,000

People get married for different
reasons. While some seek
companionship in marriage, many go
into marriage for procreation. For
couples who look forward to having
children immediately after marriage,
being declared 'infertile' by experts is
like a death sentence.
While it is generally agreed that it takes
two to have a baby and every couple is
expected to be in optimum health to
have babies, medical experts claim
men are having more fertility challenge
now. Sperm concentration in men is
said to have decreased by a third since
1990s while sperm count is said to
have decreased by half over the past
50 years.
Studies are also showing genetic
abnormalities in sperm particularly in
older men. For men therefore, quantity,
quality and motility of spermatozoa are
seen as important factors in fertility.
Since the male factor is a prominent
cause of infertility in couples, sperm
donation has become vital in assisted
conception treatment.
A study by the Society for the Study of
Male Reproduction stated that "a male
factor is solely responsible in about 20
per cent of infertile couples and
contributory in another 30 to 40 per
cent."
According to experts, even when sperm
numbers are great, a high proportion
of men may have DNA damage that
significantly impairs the chances of
natural conception. Besides, male
sperm deteriorates with age the same
way it does for women.
Studies have also shown that if a man
has poor health, smokes, drinks too
much or has a bad diet, it's very likely
his sperms are also going to be
unhealthy.
Indeed, investigation by Saturday
PUNCH showed that sperm has
become a commodity in high demand
in Lagos. The Chief Consultant and
Head, Obstetrician and Fertility
Department, Eko Hospitals, Dr.
Adegbite Ogunmokun, said fertility
problem, based on recent experience,
had tilted more towards the male
factor.
He said, "If 10 couples come in, there
will be problem with the male in six of
them, using our parameter of 20
million sperm per millimetre. But 10 to
15 years ago, maybe about four out of
10 men would have problem."
Our correspondents, who visited some
fertility centres in Lagos, learnt that
more men are having low sperm count,
thus necessitating the need for more
volunteer donors. But because donors
are scare, fertility clinics offer as much
as N50,000 to men who are interested
in selling their sperm.
They also pay more when sellers have
special features that the beneficiaries
are looking for.
Like blood sellers, investigations show
that many people in Lagos, especially
students, now sell their sperms
anytime they need money.
A student of the University of Lagos,
who identified himself as John, said he
had sold sperm to a few fertility
centres in Lagos. John said he had
been funding his education for the past
two years with what he earned from
selling his sperm.
John said he was introduced to the
programme by a friend and that he
had in turn brought in two other friends
to 'business'.
"I've sold to a number of fertility
centres. The money has really helped
me to stay in school. It takes care of
my tuition and some other personal
needs," John said, with a measure of
satisfaction.
"It's cool money, really and I'm also
doing a service to mankind by helping
out some people in need. Even friends
that I introduced to it have not turned
back since then."
An employee in a Lagos fertility clinic,
who identified himself as Olufunsho,
told Saturday PUNCH that some
women would pay any amount to get a
sperm seller with the features they
want.
He said, "We pay N50,000 here but
there are times when women come in
and request that, at all cost, they must
get a tall man. The person can earn
more when they make such requests,
especially if we don't have any that fits
the profile in our bank.
"There was a time a woman came and
requested that we get a tall man for her
at all cost. I showed her the samples
we had, but she did not like the profile.
She said she was not satisfied with the
heights. And we were unable to get
what she wanted from the sellers that
came at the time.
"The sellers that came then were either
AS, or positive with hepatitis B or had
low sperm count. We had up to twelve
sellers that came and we were unable
to get anybody. In such cases, we
could offer a lot more when we find the
right person. Sometimes, such people
are also in a position to negotiate for
what they want."
However, subsequent drops attract
lesser amounts of money for the same
seller.
To sell sperm, the person, according to
Olufunsho, must stay off sex for five
days. He undergoes some tests to
confirm that he is not HIV positive and
that he also has healthy sperm among
others.
He said, "If the same person is still
interested and we still need him, he
would repeat the screening process
again. We pay N10, 000 per ejaculation
for other subsequent ones. With my
own discretion, if the quality of the
sperm is good and we have somebody
who needs something that matches
perfectly with that seller, we may
reduce the probation period, but the
sperm must be very good.
"Although that is the protocol, it could
always be amended when there is
nothing wrong with the person. Even if
someone ejaculates the first time and
in twenty minutes time, he does the
same, it is still going to be good, but
not as good as the first one."
At the various fertility centres where
our correspondents posed as potential
sperm seller, the clinic workers made
keen attempts to have them start the
process immediately, by leaving blood
samples for tests.
On one occasion, a clinic worker told
one of our correspondents that he was
willing to waive the two to five days'
probation period of abstinence, after
our correspondent said he wished to
"sleep over it."
The worker said, "What is there to think
about? After all, you already said
you're not married. You can leave your
blood sample for testing while you go
ahead and think over it."
Investigation showed that fertility
centres want sellers between 18 and 45
years of age and expect them to
abstain from sex, two to five days
before giving sperm sample, depending
on the centre.
Other conditions to be met by potential
sperm sellers include testing negative
to HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C,
sickle cell and some other sexually
transmitted diseases. Tests are also
carried out to determine the count,
morphology (shape) and motility of the
sperm cells.
In addition, fertility centres claim to
also place a high premium on average
intelligence, education and lifestyle.
Although, Saturday PUNCH learnt that
such claims are not always true as
more emphases are actually placed on
height and other physical attributes.
"It is not immediately that we pay. We
prefer AA genotype because it can be
given to anybody, unlike AS that cannot
be given to just anybody," Olufunsho
added.
However, an employee in another
fertility clinic in Lagos, Akin, said
sperm sellers could get paid within a
week of starting the process. This is
possible only if they satisfy the
conditions.
He said, "If the motility is good, the
count is good and you're okay, then,
you can produce for us. If everything is
okay, within a week, you can get your
money."
A 2012 study into the reproductive
health of 26,600 men in France,
warned of a sperm crisis worldwide. It
said that sperm concentration has
decreased by a third since the 1990s.
The study found a continuous 32.2 per
cent decrease in sperm concentration
over a period of 17 years.
During the European Society of Human
Reproduction and Embryology annual
conference in London in July 2013,
some experts, critical of the study's
validity, said it did not completely
represent the situation in certain areas,
particularly the developing world.
However, a fertility expert at Mother's
World Care, Ikeja, Lagos, Dr. Margaret
Olusegun, said the situation is similar
in Nigeria.
She said, "A man should have a good
count, up to 40 to 50 million sperm per
millimetre of semen upward. But you
find that these days, men have more
challenges with fertility than women.
"Although, I don't have the statistics,
men are the ones with more challenges
now, even though they are the ones
who drive out their wives if they can't
bear children."
Olusegun explained that good sperm
should have "at least 50 per cent
motility (activeness) because sperm
cells can be active, sluggish or dead."
"For morphology (shape) too, which
could be normal or abnormal, sperm
should have upward of 50 per cent
normal cells. And there should not be
bacteria growth," she added.
Ogunmokun described low
concentration of sperm as
"Oligospermia." He, however, said a
sperm count with a minimum lower
limit of 20 million sperm per millimetre
of semen would still be considered
normal. But he added that any sperm
concentration of less than 20 million
per millimetre of semen could be
categorised as mild, moderate or
severe oligospermia, depending on the
count.
Ogunmokun said fertility problems
could be with the man, the woman or
the two of them.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the
demand for sperm has made the
fertility business a lucrative one. Many
of the fertility centres in Lagos have
facilities for sperm preservation, where
it's freezing costs about N50, 000 per
quarter.
Ogunmokun said, "After collection, the
semen is processed and seminal fluid
and all other things are removed. The
sperm is put in little bottles and placed
in special containers called dewars,
connected to a power source. It is
stored at very low temperature and
there must be an indicator for
monitoring should there be a change in
the condition."
He, however, added that there must be
a standby generator in a place like
Nigeria, where power supply is
unstable, as sperm can be frozen for
decades.
"Although, there are many other
reasons why people freeze sperm,
someone living far away from his wife
can decide to freeze his sperm for the
wife's use while he's away. Also,
someone going for cancer treatment
can freeze his sperm before starting
the treatment since such treatments
affect sperm production," he added.
Ogunmokun said fertility centres focus
more on university undergraduates to
ensure that sperm donors have a
certain degree of intelligence.
He said, "The current practice is to
actually recruit sperm donors and the
focus is on undergraduates. The focus
is on students because they should be
able to provide their ID cards so that
background checks can be done."
According to Ogunmokun, the
perceived increase in the number of
men with low sperm count is as a
result of infection and lifestyle habits
like sitting for too long and wearing of
tight underwear.
He said, "The testes are not supposed
to be too close to the body because of
the higher body temperature. The
testes are naturally colder, so people
who travel long distances or sit in
traffic for long can be prone to
infertility."
Ogunmokun advised that men should
"exercise appropriately, take good
nutrition, avoid tight underwear,
premarital sex, cigarette and alcohol to
try to prevent low sperm count."
However, Olusegun identified good
hygiene as key to the prevention of low
sperm count, saying, "Our environment
is too contaminated."