Why are so few men willing to donate to sperm banks? Some blame changes in anonymity laws, which now allow children to trace their biological fathers at 18, but as a neuroscientist I think one of the reasons might be old-fashioned performance anxiety.
It’s not as easy as it sounds to come in a cup: men, as well as women, need all sorts of physical, psychological, hormonal and emotional factors to align at the right moment. Our subconscious state can prohibit ejaculation, and even change the product itself: too much stress can cause permanent genetic damage.
One answer would be to offer donors viagra, which ‘short-circuits’ the system, bypassing the complicated messages sent by the brain with a simple change in blood flow. Ejaculation itself is not directly affected so the brain is still in the loop for the final result, but a reliable erection can be reassuring.
In Danish adverts, sperm donors are shown as superheroes, and the UK’s national sperm bank is now considering a similar campaign. But the increased pressure on performance could make it even harder to find willing donors.
Dr Daniel Glaser is director of Science Gallery at King’s College London
