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’.
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