Indian sperm costs up to Rs 10,000
It's not just here. Recent news reports have highlighted the rising price of donor sperm in the US: A single vial of donor sperm can cost between $370 and $890. A decade ago, American couples could source a high-quality sample for about $200.
While prices are not as steep in India, in the absence of a central monitoring body to oversee the collection and sale of donor sperm, rates vary from clinic to clinic. A vial now costs Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000, up from Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 five years ago, say doctors. Samples from donors with a medical or engineering degree go for a higher price. One vial lasts one cycle of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and usually two to three cycles are required for the couple to conceive. The samples are also used for intra-uterine and intra-cervical insemination - treatments that are cheaper and less invasive than IVF.
At Dr Rita Bakshi's fertility clinic in south Delhi, each vial will soon cost Rs 10,000."We are going to start extensive fertility and genetic testing of the sample inhouse, over and above the testing done at the sperm bank. This will lead to a price increase," says Dr Bakshi. Assisted reproduction treatment (ART) clinics like hers buy tested samples from sperm banks and store them.
What's pushed up prices are new ICMR guidelines issued in October 2015 that mandate that sperm banks need to test samples for HIV and hepatitis B and C, hypertension, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, and identifiable and common genetic disorders such as thalassemia. The tests go on for six months as many diseases have a quarantine period and the samples need to be tested again after a gap of a few months.
Dr Anirudh Malpani, an IVF specialist based in Mumbai, says couples are willing to pay more for samples that have been thoroughly tested, and for specifics such as an IIT education or height of six feet or more.
In smaller towns and cities, both prices and expectations are lower, say doctors."Couples there just want to have a healthy child," says Dr Gupta.
Yogesh Choksi, who runs Agastya Sperm Bank in Rajkot, Gujarat, says that while the number of donors has been steady over the years - he gets 25-30 per month - the supply of good-quality samples has come down. "When I started the bank in 1997, out of 10 donors, 6-7 would have a good count of 80 million to 90 million per ml. Now, only three to four have a count in this range," says Choksi, adding this is another reason for the rise in prices.
s
It's not just here. Recent news reports have highlighted the rising price of donor sperm in the US: A single vial of donor sperm can cost between $370 and $890. A decade ago, American couples could source a high-quality sample for about $200.
While prices are not as steep in India, in the absence of a central monitoring body to oversee the collection and sale of donor sperm, rates vary from clinic to clinic. A vial now costs Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000, up from Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 five years ago, say doctors. Samples from donors with a medical or engineering degree go for a higher price. One vial lasts one cycle of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and usually two to three cycles are required for the couple to conceive. The samples are also used for intra-uterine and intra-cervical insemination - treatments that are cheaper and less invasive than IVF.
At Dr Rita Bakshi's fertility clinic in south Delhi, each vial will soon cost Rs 10,000."We are going to start extensive fertility and genetic testing of the sample inhouse, over and above the testing done at the sperm bank. This will lead to a price increase," says Dr Bakshi. Assisted reproduction treatment (ART) clinics like hers buy tested samples from sperm banks and store them.
What's pushed up prices are new ICMR guidelines issued in October 2015 that mandate that sperm banks need to test samples for HIV and hepatitis B and C, hypertension, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, and identifiable and common genetic disorders such as thalassemia. The tests go on for six months as many diseases have a quarantine period and the samples need to be tested again after a gap of a few months.
Dr Anirudh Malpani, an IVF specialist based in Mumbai, says couples are willing to pay more for samples that have been thoroughly tested, and for specifics such as an IIT education or height of six feet or more.
In smaller towns and cities, both prices and expectations are lower, say doctors."Couples there just want to have a healthy child," says Dr Gupta.
Yogesh Choksi, who runs Agastya Sperm Bank in Rajkot, Gujarat, says that while the number of donors has been steady over the years - he gets 25-30 per month - the supply of good-quality samples has come down. "When I started the bank in 1997, out of 10 donors, 6-7 would have a good count of 80 million to 90 million per ml. Now, only three to four have a count in this range," says Choksi, adding this is another reason for the rise in prices.
s