Step Aside, Galileo & Twain: World’s Largest Sperm Bank in Denmark Rejects Donations from Redheads
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on September 20, 2011
Before age turned his hair white, acclaimed American author Mark Twain was a redhead
Men, if you’ve got red hair, don’t bother donating sperm at Cryos International, the world’s largest sperm bank in Denmark.
They don’t want the sperm of redheads.
Famous redheads throughout history include Galileo Galilei, Eric the Red, Queen Elizabeth I, Vivaldi, Sir Winston Churchill, Oliver Cromwell, King Henry VII, King Henry VIII, Richard the Lionheart, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, Vincent Van Gogh, Gen. George A. Custer, James Joyce, and Mark Twain.
And of course, one of the most famous contemporary redheads in the entertainment industry, the late comedic actress Lucille Ball.
From ABC News, World’s Biggest Sperm Bank Shows Redheads to the Door:
Gingers may not be feeling the love these days. Cryos International, the largest sperm bank in the world, has closed its door to redheads — at least for the moment, according to a report in the International Business Times.
“I do not think you chose a redhead, unless the partner, for example, the sterile male — has red hair, or because the lone woman has a preference for redheads,” Ole Schou, director of Cryos International, told the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. “And that’s perhaps not so many, especially in the latter case.”
Ouch.
The bank has reached its capacity of 70 sperm liters, with 600 donors on its waiting list. While ginger swimmers sell “like hotcakes” in Ireland, Schou said few people outside the Emerald Isle are as eager to have a redheaded baby.
Demand for sperm is everywhere, Schou told the Danish newspaper, particularly from men who are tall, with brown eyes and dark hair are the biggest sellers. Much of the demand for tall, dark and handsome comes from southern Europe, including Spain, Italy and Greece, Schou reported. But many Scandinavians also demand the look, in hopes of veering away from the typical blonde and blue-eyed Danish baby, Schou told the newspaper. Indian sperm is also reportedly in high demand and short supply because sperm is not allowed to be legally exported outside of India.
From Time, The World’s Largest Sperm Bank Is Turning Down Redheads:
The plight of the redhead continues. Cryos International in Denmark, the largest sperm bank in the world, has stopped accepting sperm from flame-haired would-be donors.
The Telegraph reports that the rejection is simply a matter of supply and demand: sperm from redheads is rarely requested from those who are buying the, er, product. “There are too many redheads in relation to demand,” said Ole Schou, the director of the bank, told a Danish newspaper. “I do not think you choose a redhead, unless the partner — for example, the sterile male — has red hair, or because the lone woman has a preference for redheads. And that’s perhaps not so many, especially in the latter case.”
While he doesn’t mention if all redheads are equally denied — are there more requests for, say, strawberry blonde or dark auburn sperm than from fire-red sperm? — Shou does note that most people request sperm from brown-haired and brown-eyed donors. Donating sperm pays up to $500, which has led to an over-supply of the semen (there’s currently a waiting list of 600 donors) which has allowed the bank to be a bit choosier when it comes to what sort of submissions they accept.
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