Does Kenya have a sperm bank? Many people have no answer to the question and the idea of sperm donation just exists amongst taboo vocabulary. However, a simple google search on In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) in Kenya will lead you several clinics which use donated sperms for IVF.
There are several sperm donor sites in Kenya where you sign up as a sperm donor and give your details for contact. One such site, in particular, has many Kenyan men seeking negotiations to donate their sperms. There are also various fertility clinics in Nairobi which solicit sperm donors who are given a small stipend for their effort.
The process of sperm donation is fairly simple. According to Dr. Wanyoike Gichuhi who is a consultant obstetrician and a gynecologist at the Nairobi Fertility Clinic, one donates sperms after passing screening and physical characteristics demanded by the recipient. Dr. Wanyoike who is quoted speaking to a local media explains that one is screened for infectious and genetic diseases before proceeding to make a donation.
Despite it being called a donation, some men are cashing on it.Profiles of men in a local sperm donation site confirm that sperms can sell like any other commodity. There is also a Facebook site that connects sperm donors and recipients at a pay. Most negotiations go to inbox confirming the confidential nature of the business.
“Compensation is usually a small amount to cover expenses of the donor during the whole process and is usually Sh10,00- to Sh12,000,” Says Dr. Gichuhi. However, the amount paid in private negotiations is usually higher to a tune of Sh25,000 according to users of the local sperm donation site speaking in an exchange.
Whether the amount paid is Sh10,000, Sh12,000, Sh25,000 or more, men, especially in college and campus, have taken the noble sperm donation act into a business level.