HIGHTOWER: The Globalization of Sperm Sales
Let's take another trip into the Far, Far, Far-Out Frontiers of Free Enterprise.Today, Spaceship Hightower takes you into a particularly murky sphere of global trade: sperm sales. That's right -- it seems that global trade in human sperm is hot and on the rise. No longer do sperm shoppers have to limit themselves to local or even national sperm banks, thanks largely to technological advances in sperm storage and transportation, and to world-wide marketing through the internet.The Wall Street Journal reports that Denmark is rapidly becoming the King of Sperm, providing the life-giving squigglies to customers throughout the world. Why Denmark? Quality control for one thing. They carefully screen their donors and test the quality of their product before shipping. Cryos International Sperm Bank, the largest in Denmark, offers three grades of the stuff, including one called "Extra," which includes twice as many sperm as the standard grade and has the highest level of motility. Cryos now exports to 25 countries, including the U.S., and its head honcho is thinking big: "We think we can be the McDonald's of sperm," he exults.Maybe, but not without a fight from such U.S. competitors as Xytex of Augusta, Georgia, a sperm shop that is a bit pricier than Cryos but that goes an extra step. Xytex offers its clients a sort of know-your-donor program, including photos of the donor and of the children he's produced, detailed biographical information on the donor, and even provides videos of some donors. Also, while the Danish sperm comes almost entirely from blond, blue-eyed Europeans, Xytex offers a full selection of ethnic backgrounds, including African-Americans and Asian-Americans.This is Jim Hightower saying ... I guess you could even get a label saying "organically produced" and "Made-in-the-USA."