Sperm Donors in Shanghai,China:A Study of Motivations,Characteristics,and Semen Parameters of Actual Sperm Donors

Objective:To identify the sociodemographic characteristics,motivations,and semen parameters of sperm donors in Shanghai,China.Methods:The participants were sperm donors associated with the Human Sperm Bank of Fudan University in Shanghai,China.Among the 334 sperm donors that applied for participation,329 completed the survey process.The responses obtained in the questionnaire and face-to-face interviews were used to investigate the donor motivations and characteristics,and the semen quality was examined to identify the sperm parameter.Results:In terms of the sociodemographic characteristics,an altruistic donor in this study was aged between 26 and 30 years,was single,did not have a child,had a college or undergraduate education level,was of the Han ethnicity,and worked full time.The strongest motivation highlighted by sperm donors was a donation for altruistic(26.4%,n=87)reasons.The second-highest rated motivation was curiosity(20.7%,n=68),followed by a desire to procreate(17.9%,n=59)."Complimentary body checks"(14.3%,n=47)and"financial incentives"(14.7%,n=47)were regarded as less important.The average semen parameters of the 329 donors were as follows:the semen volume was 3.39±1.21 mL,the semen concentration was 82.75×10^(6)/mL,the progressive motility rate(PR%)was 63.77%±3.13%,the total motility rate was 66.26%,the total progressive motile count was 158.31%±54.43×10^(6)/mL,and the round cell concentration was 0.38±0.51×10^(6)/mL.The PR%of the procreation motivation group was significantly higher than that of the other motivation groups(P<0.05).Conclusions:Sperm donors in Shanghai,China,are altruistic about their donation,although curiosity is also a key motivator.In addition,the decisions of donors are culturally influenced,and the motivation to procreate may influence the PR%.

Sperm donation and its application in,China： a 7-year multicenter retrospective study

Sperm donation in China is different from that in other countries due to cultural, social and political factors. This research presents the current status of sperm donation in China's Mainland and highlights some problems. Between January 2003 and December 2009, 19 471 sperm donors were screened totally and 6467 donors （33.2%） were recruited. The primary reasons for non-recruitment were either inadequate semen parameters （55.0%） or positive results for sexually transmitted diseases （7.9%）. There were 327 （1.7%） qualified donors who withdrew from the program because of frustration related to failed semen parameters, participation merely for free medical tests or job transfer. A questionnaire investigating donor intention, as well as other concerns associated with sperm donation, was distributed to 516 potential donors. All potential donors indicated their primary motivation as altruism, while 90.9% mentioned monetary reward as a second motivating factor. Approximately 93.4% of donors expressed some apprehension about the risk of consanguineous mating and the protection of their identity. Over the past 7 years, 488 389 vials of donors＇ semen have been cryopreserved. In 36 438 artificial insemination with donor sperm （AID） cycles, the clinical pregnancy rate was 23.9% and the live birth rate was 16.6%, In 7148 in vitro fertilization cycles, the clinical pregnancy rate was 45.8% and the live birth rate was 35.2%. Human sperm banks have been strictly monitored to ensure that each sperm donor can only impregnate five women nationwide. There is still a large gap between the supply and demand for sperm donation which may be solved by updated guidelines.

Association between gamete source, exposure and preeclampsia: A review of literature

Preeclampsia complicates 3%-5% of pregnancies and is one of the major causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. The pathologic mechanisms are well described but despite decades of research, the exact etiology of preeclampsia remains poorly understood. For years it was believed that the etiology of preeclampsia was the result of maternal factors, but recent evidence suggests that preeclampsia may be a couple specific disease where the interplay between both female and male factors plays an important role. Recent studies have suggested a complex etiologic mechanism that includes genetic imprinting, immune maladaptation, placental ischemia and generalized endothelial dysfunction. The immunological hypothesis suggests exaggerated maternal response against fetal antigens. While the role of maternal exposure to new paternal antigens in the development of preeclampsia was the initial focus of research in this area, studies examining pregnancy outcomes in pregnancies from donor oocytes provide intriguingly similar findings. The pregnancies that resulted from male or female donor gametes or donor embryos bring new insight into the role of immune response to new antigens in pathogenesis ofpreeclampsia. The primary goal of the current review is the role of exposure to new gametes on the development of preeclampsia. The objective was therefore to provide a review of current literature on the role of cohabitation length, semen exposure and gamete source in development of preeclampsia.

Intrauterine insemination with donor sperm:only the number of motile spermatozoa inseminated influences both pregnancy and live-birth rates

Intrauterine insemination with donor sperm(IUI-D)is an assisted reproductive technology(ART)offered to couples with definitive male infertility or risk of genetic disease transmission.Here,we sought to evaluate our practice in IUI-D and identify factors that influenced the success rate.We performed a retrospective,single-center study of all IUI-D procedures performed at Lille University Medical Center(Lille,France)between January 1,2007,and December 31,2017.Single and multivariate analyses with a mixed logistic model were used to identify factors associated with clinical pregnancies and live births.We included 322 couples and 1179 IUI-D procedures.The clinical pregnancy rate was 23.5%,and the live birth rate was 18.9%per IUI-D.In a multivariate analysis,the women’s age was negatively associated with the live birth rate.The number of motile spermatozoa inseminated was the only factor associated with both clinical pregnancies and live births,with a chosen threshold of 0.75 million.The clinical pregnancy and live birth rates were,respectively,17.3%and 13.0%below the number of motile spermatozoa inseminated threshold and 25.9%and 21.0%at or above the threshold(all P=0.005).The number of motile spermatozoa inseminated was the only factor that significantly influenced both pregnancies and live-birth rates after IUI-D.Indeed,below a threshold of 0.75 million motile spermatozoa inseminated,those rates were significantly lower.Application of this number of motile spermatozoa inseminated threshold may help centers to allocate donations more effectively while maintaining reasonable waiting times for patients.

Decline in semen concentration of healthy Chinese adults： evidence from 9357 participants from 2010 to 2015

The present study aims to analyze sperm concentration trends among young and healthy Chinese adults in Wuhan, Central China, from 2010 to 2015. Semen analysis data from 9357 participants were collected and analyzed using a general linear model and the Cochran-Armitage trend test. A significant decline was observed in sperm concentration （β [standard deviation]： -1.53 [0.16]; P 〈 0.001）. In addition, a decline in sperm density was observed by stratifying student versus nonstudent sperm donors and by analyzing the year of birth or birth year cohort of the participants. Furthermore, the percentage of participants with sperm densities of over 40×10^6 ml^-1 significantly decreased with year. Notably, a dramatic decline in sperm density was recorded over the first 5 years of study.

Evaluation of semen quality in 1808 university students, from Wuhan, Central China

The aim of this study was to evaluate the semen quality of university students in Wuhan, the largest city in the world in terms of the number of university students. All student sperm donors recorded in the Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank from 1 March 2010 to 31 December 2013 were screened. At last, a total of 3616 semen samples from 1808 university student sperm donors were eligible and retrospectively analyzed. Each donor＇s semen parameters were averaged over two samples and compared with the World Health Organization criteria, and a generalized linear regression model was used to examine several determinants of semen quality. We found that the mean and median values were 3.0 ml and 2.8 ml for semen volume, 50.2 x 106 m1-1 and 50.0 x 106 m1-1 for sperm concentration, 148.1 x 106 and 142.1 x 106 for total sperm count, and 58.6% and 60.0% for total sperm motility. About 85.0% of donors had parameters that were all normal. Season and duration of abstinence were critical factors affecting semen quality. We also found a decrease in sperm concentration during the 4 years observation; however, this may not be a strong evidence to confirm the declining trend of semen quality. In conclusion, semen quality of university students in Wuhan was not optimal and should be paid high attention, long-term observation and further study should be carried out to confirm the present situation.