One Danish sperm bank is screening candidates with IQ tests

A sperm bank in Denmark requires its sperm donors to have an IQ of at least 85 and a police clearance certificate demonstrating no criminal record.

Donor Network, with its headquarters in the Danish town of Aarhus, is the first sperm bank in Europe with such requirements, and includes results of the compulsory IQ test on donor profiles alongside information on physical characteristics. When the information about Donor Network's requirements was published by the Danish broadcaster DR last month, rumours arose that these requirements apply to all sperm banks in Denmark, but this is not the case.

'As far as we know, we are the only bank in the world with these requirements,' CEO of Donor Network, Jakub Knudsen, told Euronews. 'We wouldn't feel comfortable selling these individuals as donors, as we wouldn't recommend them to our own patients.'

All Donor Network donors undergo a standardised test to assess abstract and logical thinking abilities known as the 'Culture Fair Test 20-R'. The test is designed to be independent of acquired knowledge or language skills, and the results are stored in the donor profiles together with other health information, aiming to offer greater transparency for people selecting a donor.

'IQ is a strong predictor of, not just academic success and income, but also mortality, risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc and has a high heritability of 50-80 percent,' Knudsen told Euronews.

In Denmark, all potential donors are required to undergo genetic screening and health evaluations, and there is a legal limit of 12 families per donor. Sperm banks can impose their own additional screening requirements for donors, for example the large Danish gamete bank, Cryos International, requires that donors must be Danish residents aged between 18 and 45 and must undergo physical and mental health screening.

While genetic screening requirements and limits on the number of families per donor are widely accepted, the IQ requirement is perceived as more controversial and has sparked ethical discussions.

Dr Daniela Cutas, associate professor of medical ethics at Lund University, Sweden, commented that screening potential sperm donors based on their IQ and criminal record assumes that these traits can be genetically determined. However, evidence suggests that environmental factors also play crucial roles in children's development, including factors such as emotional support, nutrition, and education.