posted on January 30, 2003 12:13:48 PM new
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 29) - Sperm banks across the country are heeding the call of patriotism and are offering U.S. servicemen faced with fighting a possible war in Iraq the chance to leave a little of themselves behind for free -- or at a deep discount.
California Cryobank, one of the nation's largest sperm banks, said on Wednesday that more than 40 military personnel had taken up a one year's free sperm storage offer as a precaution against the possibly harmful effects of vaccine or chemical weapons exposure on their fertility.
"You wouldn't believe the interest we have gotten. It has been incredible. We tried this in the Gulf War in '91 and we probably had about 15 to 17 soldiers do it," said Dr Cappy Rothman, medical director of California Cryobank.
"We're now having an increased flow of telephone calls. We now have about 40 troops in the past two or three weeks who have gone out of their way to store their sperm before they go to war," Rothman said.
New England Cryogenic Center Inc., a privately held family-run sperm bank in Boston, said it is offering a 50 percent discount to military servicemen headed to Middle East.
A spokeswoman for the company said the promotion, which has been running for a month, has led to a modest increase in inquiries from prospective clients, but she was unable to quantify the level.
"We have had additional phone calls about how quickly the entire procedure takes. It's as simple as getting a prescription from doctor to come in. Within a week you could have 20 vials," she said.
VIRGINIA SPERM BANK ALSO CATERING TO MILITARY
Another large sperm bank, Fairfax Cryobank in Virginia, has been getting two or three appointments a week since deployment started a couple of months ago.
Concern over the possible side effects of anthrax and smallpox vaccinations, together with fears that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might use chemical or biological weapons against invading troops, has spurred the rush by soldiers to protect their legacy.
Others are motivated by memories of "Gulf War Syndrome" following the 1991 war to oust Iraq from Kuwait. Veterans' groups have long suspected that pesticides in the battlefield, burning oil tanks, bombs made from depleted uranium and vaccine cocktails caused health problems ranging from exhaustion to loss of motor function.
Neither the United States nor Britain accepts that a direct link has been established between the 1991 war and the syndrome.
Rothman said he was not aware of any direct or proven link between anthrax and smallpox vaccines and infertility. But he added; "Some of the stuff you don't know until after the fact ... Why not store your sperm? There's no downside. There is no risk."
Rothman said the military was ignoring the issue in its extensive presentiment briefings to servicemen and women.
But Doug Sayers, spokesman at the large Navy Medical Center in San Diego, said that sperm storage was a purely a "personal and individual decision. It is not a matter of policy, ... We protect our service members from a full range of potential threats and we are confident that we have addressed the range of issues out there."
posted on January 30, 2003 02:10:49 PM new
The reason for the increase, IMO, is that this time, a ground war will be bitter and deadly; unlike Bush the Elder's Gulf War. Americans know it that this time, Iraqis will have the moral high ground and will be willing to die for their homeland, not roll over like Afghanistan did for us. Even getting Saddam out of there is not going to be a case where Iraqis will be welcoming us much. I've noticed that the media keeps trying to portray the Iraqi people as being FORCED to say that they'll oppose us, but really, they look FORWARD to us being there! Propaganda like this is common in warfare.
edited for no reason.
[ edited by Borillar on Jan 30, 2003 02:11 PM ]
posted on January 30, 2003 02:31:07 PM new
I have had several instructors & friends of Iraqi & Iranian heritage that became U.S. citizens, All expressed a desire to see a "mushroom cloud" rising from their native homeland.
posted on January 30, 2003 06:09:53 PM new
Bob - nothing... I was just wondering the same thing. I was expecting debates ranging fom the morality of the issue to the responsibilit of the rmy to the child of a deased soldier who was concieved after the fathers death fom these stored sperm. I figured it would bring about all sort of unique and probably strange viewpoints on the issue but I must say that Iraqi support for nuking Iraq was not one of the avenues I forsaw.
