Amid the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Sweden is facing an acute shortage of sperm?for assisted pregnancy as would-be donors avoid hospitals citing health risks.?
According a report in Reuters, there has been an abrupt stop in inseminations in large parts of the healthcare system and is resulting in increase in waiting times by years.?
¡°We¡¯re running out of sperm. We¡¯ve never had so few donors as during the last year,¡± Ann Thurin Kjellberg, head of the reproduction unit at Gothenburg¡¯s University Hospital, told Reuters.?
The report says that this unusual crisis of sorts has meant that the times?for assisted pregnancy have drastically?gone?up?from around six months to an estimated 30 months in the past year, possibly longer.?
¡°It¡¯s stressful that we can¡¯t get a clear time or date for treatment,¡± Elin Bergsten, a 28-year-old maths teacher from southern Sweden, told?Reuters.?
Two years ago, Bergsten and her husband learned he was unable to produce semen, and the pair immediately applied for assisted pregnancy. She was due to have her second cycle of insemination before her treatment was indefinitely delayed due to the shortage.
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The shortage isn't restricted to any particular area, rather it is the case across the country.?
¡°We¡¯ve run out in Gothenburg and Malmo, they will soon run out in Stockholm,¡± Thurin Kjellberg added.?
The Nordic countries and Belgium have the highest assisted conception rates in the world, in terms of availability of cycles per million of population, according to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
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Under Swedish law, a sperm sample can only be used by a maximum of 6 women. Most donated sperm in Sweden has reached this legal capacity, meaning that in many areas, assisted pregnancy is only available for women who have used a specific sperm sample before.
Some Swedish regions have taken to social media to encourage potential male donors, but with varying results. In the meantime, the shortage lingers.??
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