* I looked into becoming a sperm donor. It paid, but not enough to make it worthwhile just from a financial standpoint. You could make maybe $150-300 a month if you donated at the maximum allowable rate, and to do that, basically you were not supposed to be ejaculating anywhere else. There was a protocol you were supposed to follow in terms of the number of days it had been before donating, etc.
I was tested, and rejected because although my sperm count and motility were good, it turned out my sperm had a poor survival rate when frozen and rethawed.
I got a full physical, more complete than any other I have ever had, including FAA second class and PADI diving physicals. They drew blood, and did a thorough vision and hearing test.
To be accepted, you had to have a four-year bachelor’s degree or have earned the rank of E-6 in the military, had to be under a certain age, but over 21, and had to bring a transcript or DD 214, a driver’s license and a birth certificate or passport. You also had to sign a paper consenting to a criminal background check. No felons or men with certain misdemeanors were accepted. I was fingerprinted and photographed mugshot style.
There was also about a 45 minute interview with two people, a man and a woman, and they asked every conceivable question about my disease and sexual history. I was asked if I had ever had any sexual contact with any other men, if I had had sex with a prostitute, had I ever fathered a child, donated sperm anywhere else, etc, etc, and had to sign a paper which the woman notarized.
Later, I was told that the company spent about $2,000 testing and investigating each potential donor before accepting the first actual donation. I never did learn what the cost to the recipients was.
Whether all sperm banks were as thorough and honest as this one certainly appeared to be, I don’t know. Now, twenty-plus years later, I regret not having been able to do it. The idea that my genes would live on probably to the end of humanity was one I thought was pretty cool.
* The question is whether or not having anonymous sex with strangers you meet in the bathroom at a club is a relationship breaker or not. In most hetero relationships, it is. I would hazard a guess that in lesbian relationships, it is even more of a deal breaker. With the gays I know, it’s just another Saturday night.
