Sperm donor shortage forces Tokyo hospital to stop offering couples fertility treatment
- Keio University Hospital in Tokyo said men have stopped donating sperm
- Men fear government will give children the right to contact biological fathers
- The facility has now stopped taking appointments from couples for treatment
A shortage of anonymous sperm donors has forced a Japanese hospital to stop offering couples fertility treatment.
Doctors at Keio University Hospital in Tokyo said men have stopped donating sperm because they fear the government will give children the right to contact their biological fathers.
The facility has now stopped taking appointments from couples seeking artificial insemination by donor, according to local media.
A shortage of anonymous sperm donors has forced a Japanese hospital to stop offering couples fertility treatment
The treatment is usually sought by couples where the man is infertile.
In such cases, the woman is artificially inseminated with sperm from an anonymous donor.
According to Japan Today, the hospital’s obstetrics professor Mamoru Tanaka said there were concerns about the implications of Japan recognising the right of donor-conceived children to know their biological parents.
Tanaka said it could essentially result in cases where the child in question has two fathers.
‘It is crucial to establish through legislation a safe and comfortable donor system,’ Tanala said.
Keio University Hospital in Tokyo said men have stopped donating sperm because they fear the government will give children the right to contact their biological fathers
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