Sperm donations go high-tech to match couples

An online matching system for sperm donations using big data and artificial intelligence in Guangdong province has benefited more than 500 couples with infertility problems, the president of Guangdong Provincial Fertility Hospital said.

The system allows matching of basic information such as blood type, facial shape, nose bridges, skin color, hair distribution and eyelid condition.

Unrolled last year in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, the system aims to better meet the needs of infertile couples and has reduced birth defects, according to Li Guanming, the hospital's president.

"It helps realize the intelligent comparison of biological features between men of families who are strongly willing to have their children using assistive technologies and sperm donors through the cloud database," he said.

In the past, only the blood type of the donor was considered in artificial insemination decisions.

"The matching system, to the greatest extent possible, also helps relieve the worries of couples who need sperm donations by reducing concern that the child's appearance and blood type will be too different" from the parents, Li said.

The hospital has the only sperm bank in Guangdong, with more than 190,000 donations so far.