Family planning agency moves into banking -- of sperm
Family planning agency moves into banking -- of sperm
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association
(PKBI), which pioneered birth control programs in Indonesia as
long ago as 1957, is now studying the prospect of opening the
country's first sperm bank.
"We have sent our members abroad to study how to set up and
run such a bank. We will also complete the feasibility study on
its clinical aspects," PKBI chairman Kartono Mohamad told The
Jakarta Post on Thursday. Kartono is also a physician.
The feasibility studies on the social and judicial aspects of
the bank are still on the way, Kartono said, stressing that these
were probably the most important factors to consider before the
final decision could be made.
Mindful that the idea of a sperm bank might stir controversy,
Kartono said his proposal is linked to the family planning
program. The bank is intended for men who might want to save
their sperm before undergoing a vasectomy.
The promise that men could still have children in the future
could provide an incentive for more men to choose male
sterilization as a method for family planning, one of the most
effective available at present, said Kartono.
"The sperm can be stored in the bank for years so a man who
has undergone a vasectomy who wants to have a child can have his
frozen semen administered to make his wife pregnant. This is more
practical than having to undergo a surgery to restore the
resected spermatic duct," Kartono said.
The probability of the success of such restorative surgery is
only about ten percent if the man was vasectomized using
conventional vasectomy methods, Kartono said.
But if the man was vasectomized with micro-surgery -- which
does not involve a scaplel -- the success probability can be
increased to 60 percent, he said.
Although the latter method seems quite promising, doctors
cannot guarantee that any restorative operation will be fully
successful, Kartono said. He explained that this was why it was
necessary to have a sperm bank.
About 32 percent of vasectomy recipients in Indonesia were won
over through PKBI's efforts, Kartono said.
The association next week is holding its 9th national congress
in Semarang, Central Java, to be attended by representatives from
its 22 provincial and 146 regent branches.
Before the June 7-9 congress, PKBI will organize a seminar on
the role of genetics in the human resources development.(arf)