A doctor opens a liquid nitrogen storage container for sperm or eggs. Photo: VCG

A college student from Renmin University of China won the first section of "sperm competition" launched by the Human Sperm Bank of Shanghai recently to decide "who has the strongest sperm," the organizer announced on Thursday.

The student's semen concentration is 106 million sperm per milliliter, with its vitality up to 70 percent, and its volume up to 4 milliliters, according to organizer.

The semen concentration of a student from Jiao Tong University was 118 million sperm per milliliter, 7.9 times than the normal level, beating other students. For another student from Shanghai Technical Institute of Electronics & Information, his sperm vitality was the strongest, 2.6 times the normal level.

This 45-day event invited college students to register in a free competition. All participants registered anonymously, and the organizer promised to take their information confidentially.

The competition will pick out who has the highest concentration of sperm, who has the most viable sperm and who has the "most beautiful" sperm. The competition is totally free for college students in Shanghai.

There are also some requirements for sperm donators: they need to be Chinese citizens and a resident in Shanghai, aged between 20 and 45, above 165 cm high and with a college degree and above. 

"Since the launch of the activity, there have been many college students who would like to participate in it, and their information will be kept confidentially," Chen Xiangfeng, a doctor from Renji Hospital who is also in charge of the sperm bank told The Paper on Sunday.

Chen noted that the purpose of the event is not to collect sperm from college students, but to make them aware and pay more attention to their reproductive health. "Don't wait until you've hit child-bearing age," Chen said, saying people can only change their unhealthy living habits by paying attention to them as early as possible.

Chen explained that the number of sperm donors eligible for the sperm bank has been declining during recent years. This event aims to "raise young people's awareness of reproductive health earlier" by providing a free sperm check-up, Chen said.

Along with the competition, if the competitors would like to donate their sperm, the sperm bank will also sign contracts with them. 

"It takes several times to complete the whole process of sperm donation, which lasts for about half a year," Chen explained, noting that they will provide subsidies for the donators, covering transportation and nutrition expenses. The amount of the money depends on the number of donations and quality of sperm, with the maximum amount of subsidies being 7,500 yuan ($1,157). 

Chen stressed that the donation is free and they will keep information about the donors absolutely confidential.

Experts noted that animal viscera, containing more cholesterol which is an important component of synthetic sex hormones, but also having adrenaline and sex hormones, can promote the maturation of spermatogonia.

In the past five years, half of the people who donated sperm to the sperm bank in Shanghai were college students and the other half were social personnel. The overall qualification rate was between 25 percent and 35 percent, but the sperm bank hasn't done sperm quality evaluation for college students, according to Chen.

The Human Sperm Bank of Shanghai was the first of its kind in Shanghai, and was founded in 2003. The sperm from the bank is directly sent to 17 fertility centers in the city, which will ultimately provide services to those people in need, such as those with familial genetic disorder.