The company, based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, ran a promotion on its Juhuasuan group buying site from July 15 to 17 on behalf of seven sperm centers.
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Although volunteer sperm donors can receive a payment of 3,000-5,000 yuan (US$483-$805), not many men have responded to calls for donations made by several sperm banks across China since April, the newspaper said.
Healthcare has become one of the company’s major focuses since it invested in the pharmaceutical data tracking company CITIC 21CN, now known as Alibaba Health Information Technology, last year. The initiative was an attempt to help restock Chinese sperm banks, which are now going weathering a bit of a drought.
Alibaba, also owner of Taobao, has set its sights on the online health market as more Chinese seek professional care, buy wellness products and use mobile gadgets to monitor their fitness.
Until now, donors have had to bring along paperwork and make a reservation at a brick-and-mortar sperm bank. In a survey Alibaba conducted online, it found that high intelligence and good features were among the more favored traits in donors. Afterwards participants then had to agree to a physical check-up within three months.
Thanks to a Chinese global trade website, anyone in the country can sell real human sperm online.
“The majority of the country’s sperm banks find it hard to attract suitable donors”, he added.
Alibaba said in a statement: “The objective of the promotional campaign is to raise awareness of sperm banks in China and make it easier for them to reach potential donors”. Rising infertility could result from a number of factors, such as embarrassment about relying on outsider sperm, environmental issues, and rising work pressure.
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More than a hundred people also bought paternity test kits through the group buying site and another 4,060 people purchased sperm motility test kits.
