What happens when a billionaire puts his sperm on the market?

Team TOI Plus
Dec 31, 2025 | 15:20 IST
(Photo: AI)

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has publicly offered to pay for IVF for any woman who chooses to conceive using his sperm. What was once anonymous donor material now carries a name, a brand and a debate about wealth, genetics and choice.

In fertility clinics around the world, sperm is catalogued by blood group, height, eye colour and educational background. Donors are anonymised, regulated, and stripped of identity to keep reproduction unpredictable, ethical and contained.

Rarely does a vial come with a recognisable face. Rarer still with a billionaire’s name and an open offer to pay for the entire procedure.
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