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."
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