The Shanghai Sperm Bank will reward 500 yuan (US$62) to donators of 50 sperm samples in a 2 to 3 month span, Shanghai Morning Post reported today.

The bank has 16,000 reserves of sperm, which is only enough to meet the needs of local infertile couples. The sperm bank's insufficiency of thousands of samples is because tens of thousands of east China's men are suffering from infertility.

Any donor who passes the first set of checks will receive a subsidy of 50 yuan, and 200 yuan for each additional donation given. If they donate 50 samples of sperm in 2 to 3 months, they will be awarded an extra 500 yuan.

The bank, located at Shanghai Renji Hospital, is also suffering from a lack of high-quality donors.

Last year, less than 2,000 men signed up for donation, and only 300 of them reached the standard. The donation process is complicated, including 18 different health checks and requires as many as 10 donations.

University students now represent 95 percent of the donor pool, but all healthy men under 40 are encouraged to give sperm. In March every year, the bank asks for donations from the city's 12 universities, but it hopes more "white collars" will get involved.

The Shanghai Sperm Bank is one of the six official sperm banks in China. 

(Shanghai Daily February 23, 2006)