Public Service job for male Canadian ex-dubs (hard to beat this one guys)

Mindchild

Caught this on the news...

http://www.canada.com/ottawa/story.asp?id=67624748-558B-4BC3-B0CB-13FE3E5742C4

Canada could face sperm shortage New bill would ban payment to donors


DENNIS BUECKERT
Canadian Press

Sunday, October 05, 2003

OTTAWA (CP) -- Canada could face a serious shortage of sperm for artificial insemination because of legislation that would ban payment to donors, critics say.

Infertile couples who hope to have a baby through donor insemination could be thwarted by the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, now nearing third reading in the Commons, some say.

Canada already depends on sperm from the United States to meet most of its needs, and the main U.S. supplier says the bill's ban on payment could threaten its Canadian operation.

"It would definitely force us to re-evaluate the program," said Jason Schlegel of Xytex Inc., based in Augusta, Ga.

"It's difficult to recruit donors as it is. I think it would be really hard to meet demand if that (a ban on payment) were the case."

The legislation, which has been in the works for more than 10 years, is based on the philosophy that the materials of human life should not be treated like commodities.

Sperm donors could be compensated for expenses only.

Currently, donors can earn up to $100 for a donation, and can donate up to three times a week. Many donors are university students looking for spending money.

Francine Manseau of Health Canada said the department is looking at how Canada can be shifted toward an altruistic sperm donation system. She said other jurisdictions, including France, New Zealand and some Australian states, have long banned payment for sperm donations, and yet have adequate supply.

"In some cases they're not even reimbursing for expenses," she said. "What we're trying to do is implement strategies, to look at how they implement such programs, to try to develop such programs for Canada."

Some studies have shown that altruistic sperm donors are less likely to be infected with disease than those who are paid.

"When you move to a more altruistic system, you find another kind of donor, who maybe already has children, who realizes the impact of the donation."

The government hopes the new legislation will be passed before Parliament adjourns this fall, but new regulations would likely take some time to develop.

Irene Ryll of Edmonton-based Infertility Connection, a support group for infertile couples, said she strongly supports the shift to altruistic donation.

She said donors should be recruited in the same way as blood donors.

"There needs to be a whole educational component for sure because right now sperm donation is in the closet. I mean, the men masturbate in a cup, we pay them $50 and forget about it.

"That's not the way creating life should be viewed. Blood donors do it because they want to help people, maybe sperm donors want to help someone."

She hopes the new legislation will also lead to a much better system for tracking sperm donors and donor-insemination children.

Currently, if such a child turns out to have a hereditary disorder, there's no way to communicate that information to the donor or to others who have been born with the use of his sperm.

Canada has been dependent on imported semen in 1999, when a woman became infected with chlamydia through donated sperm.

Until that time, the sperm banking business was self-regulating, with standards set by fertility doctors through the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, which also opposes the payment ban.

After the infection raised warning flags, Health Canada discovered that some clinics were violating the voluntary standards, and stepped in with binding regulations.

Many clinics found the new standards so onerous they dropped out of sperm collection, turning to U.S. suppliers, mainly Xytex.

Fertility doctors have expressed concern that much of Canada is dependent on a single company with a relatively small pool of donors.

Schlegel said the pool of donors fluctuates from 100 to 150, but not all of those meet Canadian requirements. Another 30 to 40 donors have been recruited in the Toronto area.

There are no statistics on the sale and use of sperm, or on how many babies are born through donor insemination. According to one estimate, 16,000 Canadians have been born as a result of donor insemination.

Perry

The part about being reimbursed for "expenses" concerns me. I mean what kind of expenses are we talking about. How much expense does it take to donate some sperm? I guess if there was a catalog of asistants to choose from their would be extra costs.

And why the figure of $100. Is that the average cost of a dinner and a movie these days?

Yes, this all very troubling.

Mindchild

Perry,

Too bad I didn't know they paid up to $100 a shot three times a wee when I was a dub. Why I could have supported myself in style while pioneering!

Skipper

expatbrit

Well let's see. If someone were to do this on a professional basis they would have transport costs for a start.

Then there would be materials expenses for ...erm... maintaining the tool of the trade at peak performance.

Repairs and maintenance costs, such as re-hydrating drink and rash cream.

Research and development (how to get higher sperm counts etc).

Advertising and promotion: "Big Willies - The Champagne of Semen" etc

Salaries: a really really good looking secretary, for instance. With benefits of course, such as purchases from Victoria's Secret.

The list goes on and on, hey?

Expatbrit

Public Service job for male Canadian ex-dubs (hard to beat this one guys)

Mindchild

Perry

Mindchild

expatbrit

tyydyy

iiz2cool

Perry

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