Are red-headed men banned from sperm donation?

Hello everyone! I’m considering donating my sperm in the US, but I’ve been getting information about how does sperm donation work, how much do you get paid and all that stuff, but I’m rather concerned about the profile of the donor. I’ve heard most sperm donor profiles correspond to white, blonde people with blue eyes and light skin colour. But of course there are black, asian, brazilian, etc. profiles as well. What I’ve heard over there is that for example gingers are banned from sperm donation, and I find it quite crazy to be honest. Be it as it may, I’d like to find out whether this is true and if so, what is the scientific explanation behind it. If not, I take it as a way of bullying people with no apparent reason. What about infertile couples or women with red hair? I find it lovely that they are able to have also a red-headed child 🙂

Dear Christian Boyle,

The following are the requirements that every potential sperm donor must meet in order to qualify as so in general terms (they may vary slightly from country to country):

1. Age: 20-39 years old.
2. Height: at least 5 feet 7 inches
3. Education level: high school graduate + college degree (completed or pursuing it)
4. Place of residence: within 25 miles of the sperm bank or clinic
5. Permissions: you can work in the US legally
6. Family medical history: you should provide medical information about both sides of your biological family
7. Visits to the clinic or sperm bank: generally, sperm donors must visit the center at least once a week during the donation process
8. No history of chronic health problems
9. No genetic diseases
10. Passing STD testing
11. Passing psychological testing

As I said, these are general requirements to become a sperm donor in the US. They are quite similar worldwide, but red-headed, black, asian or whatever your ethnicity is are not banned from sperm donation at any rate.

Hope this helps

I’ve also heard this, but I have seen it is linked to a sperm bank located in Denmark, which BTW is the world’s largest sperm bank. The “explanation” given to turned away red haired donors is that there’s a lack of demand for what they offer and they have too many “stock” already, that is, they are overloaded. Okay, I can understand they are overloaded, but why gingers? I’m sure there are lots of people wishing to find the suitable ginger sperm donor because that’s how they are and how they want their child to be. The world today is absolutely insane I’m afraid 🙁