Aussie MPs left squirming in sperm appeal
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Saturday, 15, Jan 2005 10:11
Male politicians in one Australian state have been left squirming after an in-vitro fertilisation clinic asked them to become sperm donors, the Reuters news agency reports.
The Monash IVF clinic in the Victoria state says that sperm supplies are dwindling and has written to parliamentarians aged under 45, urging them to help tackle the crisis by donating their own sperm.
"We hope that if some of the leading role models within our community become donors, others may follow suit," said the clinic in a letter to 25 male MPs.
The IVF clinic says it has around 100 clients on its books, but only 13 donors to meet demand.
Medical director Gab Kovacs blames the sperm shortage on a state law, which came into force in 1998, stating that only men who were prepared to have their identities released could become donors.
Victoria Police Minister Andre Haermeyer told Australian Broadcasting radio that he had not been approached to become a sperm donor, but questioned whether politicians would make desirable candidates.
"It could create a rather quarrelsome family, I would have thought," he said.
The Monash IVF clinic confirmed that no MPs have yet come forward offering to donate their sperm for the common good.