Today in terrible ideas: Women who are trying to conceive are turning to online forums where men are offering to donate sperm for free, despite common knowledge that we're supposed to actively avoid jerkoffs from the Internet.
While there are much safer, regulated options for donor sperm—like commercial sperm banks and The Known Donor Registry, where donors are vetted and screened for diseases—they can be costly, and thriftier women are looking for a discount. There are apparently online forums where they can meet men who are willing to donate sperm—wait for it—via sex.
One story about an 18-year-old girl was particularly troubling:
Eighteen-year-old Jennifer R. hoped online sperm donation could help her have a baby. When she was 16, Jennifer, who asked not to use her last name to protect her medical privacy, found out she has an ovarian disorder that her doctors say will make her infertile by her mid-20s. If she wants to have a baby, she's been told, Jennifer has to get pregnant soon.
But she doesn't have a partner, and she says buying sperm from a sperm bank is too expensive for her. The cost of a single vial of sperm runs between $500 and $700, and most women require multiple vials to get pregnant.
So, with her mother's blessing, Jennifer went online and posted a message on a forum where men donate sperm for free (she did not use Known Donor Registry). She says a lot of men replied, and one caught her interest. They emailed, exchanged photos, and eventually spoke using Skype. He said he wanted her to have sex with him in order to conceive.
So more than anything, what can be gleaned from this new trend is simply that men have discovered a different way to get laid.