Smart phones are all the rage—and have been for some time. Every time a new model is released, tales of individuals scheming up new ways to get their hands on one appear in the news. Individuals camping out on city sidewalks for an entire week. Some folks selling their engagement rings to have the cash to purchase the new model. These stories are old hat.

Now, it seems a sperm bank in China is trying to capitalize on this in order to recruit new sperm “donors.” In Shanghai, a new sperm bank is advertising that it will give its donors a new iPhone 6S in exchange for their emissions.

But, there are some strings attached.

Donors must have a college degree, be of a certain height requirement, and should not have any genetic diseases. Only the best grade and highest functioning sperm will do. Kind of like the iPhone is being exchanged for in this arrangement.

And one day—children conceived from these exchanges will grow up and seek out their origin stories. They’ll want to know who their biological fathers are, what they were like, where they are from, and why they decided to “donate” their sperm. And some of them could very well find out the circumstances surrounding their conception.

They may very well learn that their sperm donor had no real desire for them to ever exist. But they sure as hell wanted the latest iPhone available on the market.

Image by Yutaka Tsutano via flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Christopher White, Ramsey Institute Project Director