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Nobody Wants Redheads? Sperm Bank Turns Down Ginger Haired Donors
Nobody Wants a Redhead?
Some speak of the “red-headed stepchild” who gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop and a lack of love. But it’s not just the stepchild that is feeling rejected, sperm donors who happen to have red hair are being turned down too.
Cryos — the world’s largest sperm bank — said they’ve been drastically cut down stocking the sperm from red haired donors. Why? “There are too many redheads in relation to demand,” the sperm bank’s director said. “I do not think you chose a redhead, unless the partner — for example, the sterile male — has red hair, or because the lone woman has a preference for redheads. And that’s perhaps not so many, especially in the latter case.”
But there is one place where the sperm of red headed donors is “selling like hot cakes.” And that’s in Ireland.
Their most popular sperm seller? Sperm from brown-haired and brown-eyed donors, but that is probably since Cryos’ biggest customers are in Spain, Italy and Greece. And while they don’t want red-headed sperm, they are in need of sperm from Indian men, which has been challenging for them since India doesn’t allow eggs or sperm to be exported.
And while many love a red-headed little one, would you avoid having a red-headed child if you had the choice?
Photo: Flickr
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18 Comments
Leanne commented on Sep 19 11 at 2:45 pmOddly, red hair skips a generation and must be present in both mother and father’s background to express in the child. So, refusing red headed donors is really moot. Funny that labs that deal in genetics don’t get basic genetics!
I have a redheaded son and good gosh he is cute!
Diera commented on Sep 19 11 at 3:11 pmMy mom had red hair and my husband has reddish hair, so we were totally hoping for a redheaded baby and didn’t get one!
goddess commented on Sep 19 11 at 3:15 pmI have a strawberry blond- and she’s gorgeous- gets many compliments on her long, wavy, reddish hair.
Linda, t.o.o. commented on Sep 19 11 at 3:16 pmAwwwwww. My redheaded son is totally adorable. He has the same hair color his paternal grandmother had when she was young.
Samantha commented on Sep 19 11 at 3:27 pmThis is such a bizarre prejudice – I LOVE seeing red-headed children, it is such a magical hair colour.
bob commented on Sep 19 11 at 3:49 pmNewsflash! Prejudicial Cretins Desire Offspring Whose Paternity is not Constantly Questioned, Vendor Accedes.
Kate commented on Sep 19 11 at 4:07 pmMy son is strawberry blonde, and neither his father nor I are redheaded at all. But gosh he’s a cutie!
Juliet commented on Sep 19 11 at 4:11 pmIf we hadn’t chosen a donor based on my husband’s traits (brown hair, blue eyes, for example), I would have opted for a blue- or green-eyed, red-headed donor. I love red hair and wish I had it myself!
Anne commented on Sep 19 11 at 4:14 pmAs someone who considered using donor sperm, I can tell you this – we wanted someone that looked like like my husband. It may sound silly or shallow, but that’s what we wanted.
I didn’t set out thinking, “hey, why not just have a child with any random stranger on earth who wishes to donate his genetic material because ours together is crap?!”. Thinking that the child might look a little like us took out the sting. How many redheaded people are seeking donors vs. brunettes?
As it turns out, we decided to go ahead and use our own genetic material for good or ill! (It hasn’t been easy going that route either.)
Andrea commented on Sep 19 11 at 9:13 pmI prayed for a redhead! I love coloring my natural blonde hair red – I was a red head for a decade and thought it looked awesome with my blue eyes. But all ours are little blondies.
This is a really bizarre prejudice, and when we lived in Australia, all the little red-headed kids had to be kept at home on one particular day, which had been branded “Punch a Ginger Day”. Weird. This prejudice does not really exist in Canada. Most redheads are thought quite beautiful.
Mary-Belle commented on Sep 19 11 at 10:18 pmOMG!! This is the craziest thing I have heard since Hitler…..REALLY???? do away with the Reds ??? what next Blonds??? Brunettes??? Come on people
Lucie Melahn commented on Sep 19 11 at 10:27 pmIt’s not true that the redhead gene has to be present in both parents’ lineage. My mother has NO redheads in her lineage, and we have traced it way back, but I am a redhead. She does have a lot of blondes in her background, though. I don’t have children, but I would LOVE a redheaded baby.
Lisa commented on Sep 20 11 at 2:43 amOh Andrea you do come out with some gems. You made me laugh out loud with your punch a ginger day. To anyone in doubt, there is absolutely NO SUCH thing.
Taz commented on Sep 20 11 at 7:36 ami was a red headed child (now a more auburn adult) and i always liked that it set me apart from the other kids in my family. i think that ginger teasing is spreading to the states. luckily it didn’t exist when i was a kid! i guess i don’t care if no one picks red haired sperm donors- it will make us red heads continue to be rare!
Whatevs commented on Sep 20 11 at 8:58 amWell, oddly enough, there might not be a “Punch a Ginger Day” in Australia, but there WAS a “Kick a Ginger Day” a few years ago, which resulted in both injuries and suspensions. The place where this horrible day originated? Courtenay, British Columbia. Which is in Canada. And there were students from schools in British Columbia and other provinces who participated, including, among other places, Vancouver. So strange, because I had heard that this prejudice did not really exist in Canada. But I guess everyone is wrong once in their lives!
http://www.newser.com/story/43461/kids-attack-redheads-on-kick-a-ginger-day.html
Snarky Mama commented on Sep 20 11 at 2:50 pm@Lucie–just because there weren’t any redheads in your mom’s family, doesn’t mean she wasn’t carrying the red hair gene. I’m fairly certain that the red hair is the recessive gene, so you do need it from both sides of the family for a person to “show” red hair. (Of course, this is all based on my faulty remembering of high school science, so I may be wrong.)
*
Of my 3 children, one has flaming red hair, the second is a beautiful auburn-copper color, and the last? Blonder than blonde…All from brown haired parents.
Jo-Ann commented on Sep 21 11 at 10:43 amI am a redhead, my husband a strawberry blonde. We have two red headed boys and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Beyond the advantage of always being able to find my sons in a crowd, it give them distinction. It makes me sad people dont want redheaded kids. It reminds me when I grew up in the 70′s and people would say….you would be pretty if you were not a redhead.
Angry Mangry commented on Sep 21 11 at 12:24 pmThis issue is ridiculous. People pick sperm donors based on what the parent/s look like. If you’re not a redhead, you’re probably not going to go out of your way to pick a redheaded donor. Redheads are rare. Figure out where the supply/demand might fit in- there’s no eugenics trying to eliminate redheads here. Um… it would’ve saved me a bundle on hair dye in college if I were one.
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