A bizarre sperm extractor helps men in China masturbate in hospital settings. It is designed to urge men to donate sperm in treating erectile dysfunction.
Jiangsu Sanwe Medical Science and Technology Company Ltd invented the sperm extractor with the capability to simulate a vaginal environment. It can trigger ejaculation through massage, sucking, and vibration.
Odd Way To Deposit Sperm
The extractor machine might seem like an unusual way to deposit sperm, but the Chinese government said it could be the solution to their semen supply shortage.
"Hospitals mostly use masturbation as their collection method, without providing a venue or equipment," said Ding Guijiang, inventor and chairman of China's Jiangsu Sanwe Medical Science and Technology Center. "This makes collecting sperm on the spot very difficult. In order to meet clinical demands, we invented this automatic sperm extractor, which is also user-friendly."
Guijiang said the machine can replicate the physical movements during a sexual contact by moving back and forth. Urological patients, who cannot produce sperm without assistance, found the extractor useful.
Dr. Li Siming from Shanghai Pudong Hospital said the device makes it efficient to produce greater amounts of quality sperm. However, it is still far from emulating the temperature and feel of the vagina.
The £5,000 (approximately $6,500) sperm extractor has sold about 10,000 units annually. It is used in clinics in the United States, Germany, Russia, and France.
China's Shortage Of Sperm
Falling sperm count has become a nationwide problem as the Chinese government is trying possible solutions to increase their birth rate. Aside from relatively small number of donors, the quality of semen collected has also decreased.
At Fudan Univeristy's sperm bank, only 10 percent of the semen collected from more than 100 donors last year passed the quality standards. Shanghai Human Sperm Bank at Renji Hospital reported that only 25 percent of their sperm collections were acceptable.
A study published in the Asian Journal of Andrology noted that a huge percentage of sperm donors in China were screened out due to problems such as quality and sexually transmitted diseases.
Approximately 93.4 percent of the 516 potential donors surveyed for the study said they are concerned about the risk of exposing their identities More than 90 percent said they donated due to monetary or reward reasons, while all of them believed that donating is an act of altruism.
