Gays and lesbians in China, despite their same-sex preference in a relationship, still have paternal and maternal instincts. However, because the use of assisted reproductive technology is not allowed in China among single women, lesbian couples who want a biological child by one of them resort to foreign sperm donors.
Among their favored destinations when seeking biological fathers for their babies are sperm banks overseas, reported Global Times.
If the U.S. is their choice, like a Beijing lesbian pair did, they would need 300,000 yuan ($46,380) to cover the airfare, plus other expenses involved for the fertility trip. Another 150,000 yuan is needed for other hospital fees, while sperm has a price tag of 8,000 yuan.
The Beijing couple, who met at work in 2008 and started to date in 2011, still needed to do other things to satisfy their relatives and community who did not know of their real sexual orientation. The bride even got married in a show wedding to a foreign male so they had to look for a Caucasian sperm for the woman’s baby to have some semblance of the father.
Having the IVF done in an Asian country, such as Thailand, brings the total cost down significantly to about 100,000 yuan. The second lesbian couple opted to have a Chinese sperm donor to retain the Chines roots of the bride.
Because China’s population continue to grow older, it becomes necessary for Chinese society to pay attention to the fertility wishes of gays, said Xu Bin, founder of an NGO in Beijing, Common Language, which represents lesbian rights in China. “Most gay couples really have a strong demand for having own children. This shouldn’t be ignored,” she stated.
Kampuchea is now becoming the alternative choice for an Asian IVF because of a Thai government crackdown on surrogacy. For those who can afford, the U.S. is a good choice because of the diversity of foreign sperm available.
IHR.com lists 13 sperm banks in the U.S. which offer anonymous, ID release or private sperm banking. The 13 are found in Massachusetts, Washington, Chicago, California, Georgia, Colorado, Virginia, New York and New Jersey.