The records of a sperm bank in central China's Hunan Province show that the quality of Chinese men's sperm is declining, according to a Hunan Daily report on Thursday.

Sperm samples are stored in liquid nitrogen in the Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya. [Photo:Voc.com.cn]

According to Lu Guangxiu, a veteran gynecologist and head of the Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya, college students are major sperm donors, but their sperm's quality has been declining in recent years. Records show that in 2006, 45.9 percent of the sperm bank's potential donors met the national requirements, but the figure lowered to 37.9 percent in 2010, 17.9 percent in 2014 and only 17.8 percent in the first half of 2015. This means that in every 10 potential donors, only two were able to produce enough healthy sperm.

"Declining sperm quality signals an unhealthy lifestyle," Lu said. "But it doesn't necessarily point to infertility." A sperm bank study found that college students in China have acquired many habits that harm sperm quality, such as smoking, drinking, a lack of exercise as well as too much sex and masturbation.

The Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya is China's first sperm bank and the only one in Hunan Province. It has a collection of 146,000 sperm samples, which are used by 45 fertility centers nationwide.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)