Thanks to the London Sperm Bank, you can search for a sperm donor with an app. Which shouldn’t be too different than the way you’ve already been looking for more casual, maybe less impregnating sperm in the past.
The app, only available in the U.K., allows anyone looking for a sperm donor to swipe right on their profiles, which include “physical characteristics, achievements, donor self-summaries, staff impressions, pen sketches and much more.”
In this way, profiles on dating sites and at sperm banks are not too dissimilar. They include things like the highest form of education the donor has received, their age, height and…umm…ethnicity and skin tone? In case miscegenation is an issue for you.
Choosing the ethnicity and traits of a sperm donor whiffs of eugenics to many—and also has been the issue of lawsuits. In 2014, a couple sued the Midwest Sperm Bank after they gave birth to a mixed race baby, even though they had chosen a white donor. The couple cited the racist views of their community and family, and said they didn’t want their child to be subjected to that prejudice. But the suit sparked a conversation about whether or not it was racist to choose a donor based on race.
It’s a gray area, though maybe the London Sperm Bank could not list “oriental” as a race.
The app also allows users to create a “wish list” of traits and qualities they’d like in a potential match, so that instead of swiping around for their perfect donor, the app can ping them when one matching their qualifications becomes available. Which, honestly, sounds like something Tinder needs to get on.
H/T Quartz
