The UK's Largest Sperm Bank Is Now An App (technologyreview.com) 65
Sperm bank? There's an app for that. The largest sperm bank in the United Kingdom -- the London Sperm Bank -- has released an official app that aims to "modernize the process of hooking prospective parents up with the biological material they need to make it happen," according to MIT Technology Review: The app is essentially just a mobile version of the filtered search function the London Sperm Bank offers on its website. But in doing something as simple as bringing its desktop services to mobile devices, the bank is making a play to further normalize reproductive technologies. The London Sperm Bank boasts that users will receive push notifications as soon as new donors are available, which could help speed things up for hopeful parents looking for a match. The road to conception can take years for people using reproductive technologies, so expediting any part of the process would be a welcome time-saver. But the bank has over 10,000 vials of sperm, so searching, even using filters, could still be a lengthy process. To combat this, the app also offers a wish list function that lets more focused users predetermine what they're looking for in a donor, and receive a notification when their criteria are met. The way the service works on mobile has been compared to Tinder, but there's actually no swiping involved. Its wish list function means it's more akin to apps like Anthology, which job seekers use to find their next career move. The report notes that, while there are other mobile sperm bank apps out there, the London Sperm Bank is the only one with several medical associations and the U.K. government's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority on board. Also, the app is free to download, but the cost of ordering sperm is about $1,200 per order, which is the same as if you order through the London Sperm Bank catalogue.
What w@nker thought this was a good idea?? (Score:4, Funny)
I mean, cum on!
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I'm surprised there isn't a kinda of "Uber for sperm donation", bypassing the sperm bank and allowing people to connect peer-to-peer.
In the UK once the child turns 18 they can get the donor's details. In other words, 18 years later you might be tracked down by one of your offspring. A lot of men don't want that.
Some people don't want to go through the process of being vetted to receive donations either.
The law states that you can give your sperm to anyone you like, as long as you don't profit from it. You c
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They could make money providing vetting services. Provide medical checks for donors, and maybe STD checks for recipients if they plan to use the direct deposit method.
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They could make money providing vetting services. Provide medical checks for donors, and maybe STD checks for recipients if they plan to use the direct deposit method.
I think the legal grounds are a little murky. At least here in America, a sperm donor can be required to pay child support http://wthitv.com/2015/09/05/k... [wthitv.com]
And of course, since we sue the deepest pockets, the UberSplooge company would likely get somehow drawn into the donnybrook.
Child support can last past the age of majority as well, if the offspring goes to University. So while not all that likely, that donation could cost you plenty.
As well, n such a crowded world, its hard for at least me to jus
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The UK is different, the donor has no legal obligations or right to access to the child.
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The UK is different, the donor has no legal obligations or right to access to the child.
A much more sensible situation. In the particular case I cited, the recipients, a same sex female couple, divorced, and there was a money problem, so they took the donor to court. Here the childs welfare is paramount, so men who are not even the father, and the child is a result of adultery, can be forced to pay child support, while the actual father does not. Kooky stuff.
And Kansas being Kansas, it is possible that it was an activist judge who just wanted to throw a spanner in th works for a double wham
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Here the childs welfare is paramount, so men who are not even the father, and the child is a result of adultery, can be forced to pay child support, while the actual father does not. Kooky stuff.
Actually that's how it works in the UK too, estranged lesbian couples notwithstanding. If you're the biological father of a child or you've officially adopted them you have to pay child support, even if the child was conceived out of wedlock. That includes adultery, one night stands etc.
It's not unheard of for a man to raise a child as his own from birth without having any legal obligation to pay child support if he and the mother were to separate. If one were to take a rather callous view one could argue t
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I'm surprised there isn't a kinda of "Uber for sperm donation", bypassing the sperm bank and allowing people to connect peer-to-peer.
We call that Tinder.
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More like a fapping app.
The most sexist app (Score:2)
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Physical location? (Score:2)
The UK's largest sperm bank is apparently located at 51.157N 1.809W
Huh (Score:4, Funny)
If they're having trouble finding donors, I suggest they try Hoxton, Brighton, the House of Commons, and the BBC media city in Salford; there's plenty of wankers there to choose from.
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If they're having trouble finding donors, I suggest they try Hoxton ... there's plenty of wankers there to choose from
I'm afraid they're dickheads [youtube.com] not wankers.
Must be willing to use (Score:2)
If they're having trouble finding donors, I suggest they try ... the House of Commons
The problem is not just getting donors it is getting a donor that someone is willing to use. Would you want a child who is genetically related to your average MP?
Not that easy (Score:2)
My uncle went in to donate. He came back out and told the lady - " I tried with my right hand, I tried with my left hand..I just couldn't get the lid off the jar."
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Unless you are just running some back alley turkey baster clinic, the expectation is that you will get a full medical history on the donors(both to avoid unpleasant heritable conditions and to keep STIs out of the system); do QA on the donations for sperm count, motility, absence of malformation; tests for any STIs; and finally prepare for cryopreservation until somebody want
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The UK has a nontrivial donor shortage for a reason;
is it because of their teeth? ;-)
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Just for taking sperm from one person and giving it to others.
Anyone who donates for that price is a mug.
Many of us actually pay to have it taken off our, er, hands.
No it isn't (Score:2)
The UK's Largest Sperm Bank Is Now An App
So any company or service provider that releases an app is now an app?
I rather think there might be a few services (a handful, you might say) which the bank in question can't dish out via an app.
This is bullshit. (Score:2)
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I realize that 'apps' are the future and all; but "a sperm bank is now an app" is pure nonsense.
Yep. Unless my phone can sequence my DNA, upload the results "to the cloud" and then someone else can download them on their phone and print a sperm, the sperm bank is not an app. I don't use the sperm bank by spooging on my screen, so the sperm bank is not an app.
Why is this even a story?
Slow editor day.
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At least they will all have Slashdot to communicate on to share their woes.
Cross-platform ? (Score:2)
Can I squirt it to a Zune ?
not an app (Score:2)
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Usually the courts get the records opened and force the donor to pay child support. The donor ends up paying child support for dozens of offspring,
How to make deposits? (Score:1)
One clever feature of bank apps is to make a deposit into your account directly from the phone just by snapping a photo of the cheque. Is there a way to make a deposit into this bank using the app to snap a photo of your junque?
Jack Off? (Score:3)
I read that Apple has already bettered that. Instead of an app they provided a hardware solution on their iphone.
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I read that Apple has already bettered that.
IOW Apple bettered the baby batter?
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You know what they say... (Score:1)
Apps that app other apps get apped!
Apps!
Poor or Good choice of language (Score:2)
I'm not sure in this context I'd say it's to improve the ability of their customers to "hook up" with donors.
Or maybe that's exactly what they mean.
typo (Score:2)
It already exists (Score:1)
Lost earning potential? (Score:1)