Danish sperm bank introduces IQ testing for donors

The 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.

The clinic says all potential donors undergo a genetic risk assessment consisting of a medical examination, IQ screening, a criminal background check, and a psychological evaluation.

Fertility professionals then personally interview each potential donor.

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IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is a score from standardised tests measuring cognitive abilities like reasoning, problem-solving, and memory, compared to peers.

An average score is 100, with scores reflecting how far above or below this average an individual performs mentally relative to their age group.

The required IQ level as advertised publicly on The Donor Network information page is 85.

According to the official Mensa International website a score of 85 sits within the bottom 16th percentile, meaning it is "low average."

This would suggest that whilst the Danish company now has a unique donation criterion it remains a relatively low hurdle for most prospective donors.

"As far as we know, we are the only bank in the world with these requirements," CEO of Donor Network, Jakub Knudsen, told Euronews.

In the UK, according to the NHS website, to become a sperm donor you need to be:

• Between the ages of 18 and 45
• Generally healthy and have no serious medical conditions
• We accept both men who have had their own children and men who have not

"We wouldn't feel comfortable selling these individuals as donors, as we wouldn't recommend them to our own patients."

"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 added.

There is debate over whether screening potential donors for their IQ and criminal record is helpful, because it assumes a higher IQ and a lack of criminal record can be genetically determined.

Many academics have agreed that while traits such as a parent's IQ can influence a child's intelligence, environmental factors also play a major role in shaping a child's mental development.