Strict screening sparks sperm shortage

SHANGHAI: The door of hope for many infertile couples in Shanghai has been temporarily shut - and won't reopen until 2009.

Bookings for in-vitro fertilization, or IVF - a common method of artificial insemination - are full, according to Renji Hospital-affiliated Shanghai Sperm Bank, the city's only such facility.

More than 500 couples have registered for treatment at the facility but there is just not enough donated sperm for newcomers.