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| 1984: Why Mike Became a Sperm Donor |
| Follow the deliberations of one young man in the first of a three-part series |
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Michael J Armijo (MichaelArm)  |
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Published 2005-07-05 11:11 (KST) |
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I imagine the conception occurred on November 10, 1984. Let me start from the beginning.
There was a young 26-year-old man named Michael who was working diligently at his desk in downtown Oakland, California in a typical eight story office building on a breezy autumn day. His daydreaming mind began to wander about his life during a break time period in his workday. What could he do to make a mark in life? Is this job all there was to life?
He pondered the current year of 1984 and the infamous book by George Orwell entitled "1984" where he tried to depict a totalitarian state. Many things have been written in that futuristic book that did come true in this new up and coming world of technological advancement. Michael was even amazed that he was in front of a computer monitor for eight hours a day already. Machines were making their mark.
"Would my eyesight be shot in 10 years from looking at my computer monitor?" he asked himself silently. It is funny the things we think about as our mind drifts.
"What could I do that would be significant in 1984 that would raise eyebrows in 2084," he thought.
There was a thought provoking line in that classic book. "'Who controls the past, ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'"
"What could I do in the present to change the future?" Michael wondered.
Michael has two brothers. His youngest brother was recently married and had his first child in the summer of 1984. His eldest brother was about to marry and a child of his own was certain to arrive within the year.
He thought of his own situation and wondered when he would have a child. Or would he ever have a child of his own? His bisexual tendencies had him alternating between man and woman. Surely his parents expected him to have a child. It was what society had in store for us all, was it not?
Each one of us is raised in the traditional family setting and the cycle is meant to continue. Michael felt a slight competing nature with his brothers. He wanted to have a child just as they were doing but the right woman in his life was not in the picture yet.
Michael thought about a soap opera called "Days of Our Lives" and the storyline of artificial insemination he had watched a year or so ago. He pondered the recent reading of a news story about women in need of sperm donors because their respective husbands were infertile. A light bulb suddenly flashed in Michael's mind.
"Why don't I become a sperm donor?" he asked, "That's it! How exciting. I would be a pioneer in this little secret adventure."
A week or two had passed and a listing was found in the white pages as Michael was doing some simple thumbing through. The listing read Bay Area Sperm Bank. While Michael was at his office he whispered into the handset of his phone for fear of someone walking by who might overhear his question. Could Big Brother be watching?
"Uh, hello, I wanted to inquire about becoming a sperm donor," he nervously whispered.
To his amazement the woman went on to explain that he could come into their office to see if he met their qualifications.
"What? I had to be qualified to do this," he thought silently with a bewildered frown. Is the Thought Police as per "1984" taping this conversation? He jotted down the address and made an appointment to appear at the sperm bank the very next day.
The next day seemed to arrive quicker than the strike of a matchstick. All day Michael could only think that he would leave his office and enter a twilight zone of the medical unknown.
When he arrived at the given address he was surprised to see what looked like a Tudor style house turned office building. There was a waiting room and a reception area. He identified himself and was given a clipboard with papers attached. The forms seemed to be endless, asking about medical history, family disease, siblings, interests, education and job history. One question asked about his reasons for doing such a thing. The monetary reward was $25 a shot.
"Did men do this daily for the $25?" Michael laughed quietly at his question.
He wrote that his sole reason was to help a woman in need. He knew that he wanted to have a child because he was not quite sure if he would have one any time soon. It seemed like a good time to do it because it was 1984, a woman somewhere needed him and it would be all too exciting to get a phone call in 18 years from his very own offspring.
Another questionnaire item was whether you would be willing to be contacted by the offspring when it reached 18 years of age. Michael checked "yes" because he most certainly did want to meet and befriend his very own child one day.
Michael did not realize he would have to provide a sperm specimen on that very day. He was told that they needed to evaluate his sperm count. Therefore, a Styrofoam cup was handed to him and he was instructed to enter a small room. The young lady was comforting and eased him from feeling awkward. While he was left alone he simply closed his eyes and thought of loving until the lava flowed so-to-speak. He received kudos for his high sperm count and was accepted as donor No. 151. All he could jokingly think of was Bacardi rum at "151 proof" when he heard his identifying number.
He was given a handwritten check for $25 and told to return next Wednesday. Michael was a bit fearful of asking questions and was not sure how many times he had to return. He steadily visited for five consecutive Wednesdays when he was finally told that a woman had been impregnated. The Sperm Bank Center had a pleasant woman in-charge who told Michael that he could call back in about nine months to learn the sex of the child.
It was around September 1985 when Michael decided to give the sperm bank a telephone call. He was told that the offspring was female. The next step was to wait for 18 years. There was no guarantee that the offspring would seek him out.
Michael could not hold back. At Christmastime 1989 he called the sperm bank once again. His niece was five years old and he had been thrilled with their relationship. He wanted to find out if he could send his mystery four-year-old daughter a teddy bear or some toy offering for the holidays. The same pleasant woman in-charge started to sound a little unpleasant. She agreed to call the parents to find out if they were willing to accept such a gift.
"Why suddenly now?" the mother had asked.
Michael was sadly calm and simply felt that the mother was alarmed with fear based on the phrasing of her question. He chose to let it go in hope that in 2003 he would get a phone call from his offspring (as the sperm bank so medically referred to her). The years passed and he often thought and wondered who and where his little girl might be.
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| In the follow-up article we learn that the young girl was born on August 10, 1985 and she does make that telephone call to her father. Nine months prior would have been November 10, 1984, the approximate day she was conceived. |
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©2005 OhmyNews
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