How Sperm Banks Enforce “The Rule”

A fellow academic alerted
me to an article in the American Sociological
Review by Rene Almeling of the University
of California at Los Angeles. It is called “Selling
Genes, Selling Gender: Egg Agencies, Sperm Banks, and the Medical Market in
Genetic Material.”
To quote the abstract, “Drawing on interview and observational data from two egg
agencies and two sperm banks in the United States, this article
compares how staff recruit, screen, market, and compensate women and men donors.”  

The article’s main focus is on the difference
between how male and female donors are seen and treated by agencies. Although
all donors are paid, egg agencies focus on how female donors can help families
and provide them a “gift,” while sperm banks “portray
donation as a job” for men.  A press
release from the American Sociological Association went on to explain: ‘The application process for donors also favors
what Almeling called “gendered stereotypes of selfless motherhood and distant
fatherhood.” Although egg donors stood to be handsomely compensated, women who
indicated there was a financial motive behind their participation were
routinely rejected in favor of applicants who expressed more altruistic
motives, such as the desire to “help” infertile couples.’

Here
is where The No Asshole Rule comes
in; note this long quote from a sperm bank manager, who rejected sperm from
otherwise healthy donors that he disliked. This is the earliest application screening-out of possible assholes I
have ever encountered:

Aside from personality, the other thing that makes me fall in
love with a donor is someone that’s responsible. It is so rare to get someone
that’s truly responsible, that comes in when they’re supposed to come in, or at
least has the courtesy to call us and say, “I can’t make it this week, but I’ll
come in next week twice.” Then of course the second thing that makes him ideal
is that he has consistently very high [sperm] counts, so I rarely have to toss
anything on him [i.e., reject his sperm sample]. And then, I guess the third
thing would be someone that has a great personality, that’s just adorable,
caring, and sweet. There are donors,
that their personalities, I think ugh. They have great [sperm] counts, they come in when they’re supposed to, but I just don’t
like them. That’s a personal thing,
and I think, huh, I don’t want more of those babies out in the world (emphasis
added).

I
guess it is never too early to start enforcing rule! Although I worry that this manager – and others
who screen out donors they dislike – are acting on arbitrary rather than
meaningful differences among donors.

P.S
The complete citation is Almeling, Rene, “Selling
Genes, Selling Gender: Egg Agencies, Sperm Banks, and the Medical Market in
Genetic Material.”  American Sociological Review, 2007, VOL. 72 (June: 319–340), You can read the press release from the American
Sociological Association here .