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- Hello and welcome back to Rogue Rocket.
My name is Maria Sosyan,
and before we get started
I want to thank the sponsor
of today's video, Blinkist.
With covering the news, some
subjects aren't the most
brand-friendly, and that's
why it's so important
to partner with brands like Blinkist
who wanna support the work we're doing,
but more on that later.
Today, we're gonna talk about sperm banks,
and a little more specifically,
we're gonna dive into
the most controversial
sperm bank in U.S. history.
Some people believe this bank was racist
and they even compared the
company's goals to Nazism.
But that controversy isn't the only reason
we're going to be talking
about this company.
Because even though this sperm bank
was highly controversial,
it also completely changed
the sperm bank industry.
The company actually closed
its doors back in 1999,
but it's been back in the news lately
and that's because in July
the New York Times published
this shocking story about Jeffrey Epstein.
They reported the former financier
accused of sex trafficking
had an unusual dream
to "seed the human race with his DNA
"by impregnating women at
his vast New Mexico Ranch."
Epstein hoped to have 20 women
pregnant at a time at his estate.
His bizarre dream was
inspired by two things.
The first was his fascination
with transhumanism.
That's the idea of improving
the human population
through technologies,
like genetic engineering
and artificial intelligence.
Transhumanism has been
criticized as modern day eugenics
which is the belief that genetic qualities
can be improved through
selective breeding.
Epstein's second inspiration
was the Repository for Germinal Choice.
That's the controversial sperm bank
we'll be talking about today.
The Repository for Germinal
Choice was founded in 1980
by a man named Robert Klark Graham.
Graham was a multi-millionaire
who made his fortune
by inventing shatter-proof eye glasses.
For years before opening the sperm bank,
Graham used this wealth
to spread his ideas
on human evolution and genetics.
This included authoring a book in 1970
titled "The Future of Man."
Graham wrote in this book that
while humans had developed
into the most intelligent and
powerful creatures on earth,
humanity was in the midst
of a genetic crisis.
He argued because humans had become
the most dominant species on the planet,
the weak were no longer being killed off.
And he believed the weak
were reproducing so rapidly
that the average human
intelligence was decreasing.
Graham also blamed social welfare programs
in the United States for
allowing weak individuals
to survive and procreate.
Graham worried humanity's
decreased intelligence
would lead to global communism,
but Graham proposed a solution,
Intelligent Selection.
And this became the basic idea
behind the Repository for Germinal Choice.
He believed that the
DNA collected from men
with high intelligence,
professional success,
and gifted athleticism would help change
the course of human intelligence.
Or as Graham put it, he hoped
the Repository for Germinal Choice
would "stimulate humanity's
ascent to a new level of being."
The goal was that children
born from this sperm bank
would be future intellectuals,
scientists and leaders.
These were children Graham believed
otherwise wouldn't be born.
Graham also felt that these kids
would grow up to be more useful citizens.
He hoped the Repository
for Germinal Choice
would become a prototype for more genius
sperm banks all over the world.
This is Graham speaking about
his sperm bank in the 1990s.
- You see, man is far from perfect,
but he can be improved.
And the key to this is to
increase the proportion
of advantageous genes
in the human gene pool.
- Graham initially hoped the Repository
would collect DNA of Nobel Prize winners
because he believed that Nobel laureates
were the epitome of intelligence.
So early on, he set out to contact
award-winning scientists
and he had some success.
Three Nobel laureates
actually donated their sperm.
With that collected DNA at the ready,
in 1980 Graham officially opened
the sperm bank to the public.
And then he started sharing
his company's vision with the press.
The media quickly
nicknamed the Repository,
the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank.
And that became a name Graham
would eventually adopt himself.
But the press' coverage
wasn't exactly favorable.
Graham's theories about
creating intelligent children
capable of leading the world were compared
to Nazi eugenic practices.
The project was also deemed racist
after reporters uncovered only white men
and white women were a
part of this sperm bank.
And the allegations of
racism grew even more
after William B. Shockley
revealed that he was one
of the three Nobel Prize
winners to donate sperm.
Shockley was a physicist who was outspoken
about his views on race.
He believed that there were inherent
IQ differences among races.
Notably he thought African Americans
were intellectually inferior to whites.
He also worried that
humanity would regress
because African Americans were reproducing
faster than whites.
And he at one point even
suggested that people
who are genetically disadvantaged
should be given money for sterilization.
After Shockley publicly
announced that he had donated
to the Repository, the two
other Nobel Prize winners
backed out of the sperm bank.
Their names have never been made public.
Demonstrators also picketed outside
Graham's sprawling
estate in Escondido, CA.
Graham was keeping the sperm
in the basement of his home
at the time, and he eventually
had to hire security guards
to protect the bank and his estate.
Graham also spoke out against
negative media coverage.
He held a press conference in
his back yard where he denied
that he was trying to
establish a master race.
He told reporters "I don't
know much about Hitler
"and his vision, I don't see a parallel.
"We aren't thinking of a super-race.
"We are thinking in terms
of a few more creative,
"intelligent people who
otherwise might not be born."
He also tried to deflect
accusations of racism.
In 1984 he gave an interview where he said
"We are, I would think,
selective but we're not racist.
"We will accept excellence in any race.
"What we're trying to do is optimize
"the conditions for having children."
He also said he was open to minorities
donating to the Repository,
but he claimed all the African American
and Latino men he reached out to
refused to be part of the program.
Media coverage of Graham's sperm bank
did eventually die down.
But the negative press left an impact.
No other Nobel laureates
wanted to donate their DNA.
So, Graham and his small team
had to look elsewhere for donors.
But it was still important for the company
to find men who had high IQs.
So they turned to elite college campuses,
like Caltech and the University
of California-Berkeley
where they hoped to collect DNA
from future Nobel Prize winners.
But that strategy wasn't
exactly a rousing success.
Employees estimated only around 1% of men
they contacted donated sperm.
And some news reports have
stated that none of the men
who donated have gone
on to win a Nobel Prize.
But despite all the negative
press and the struggles
to find donors, at one point the bank
had over a year-long waiting list
for potential mothers and families.
People were attracted to the
Repository for Germinal Choice
for a few reasons, but
the biggest attraction
was probably the Repository's catalog.
The catalog allowed potential
families to browse through
detailed descriptions
of the bank's donors.
All the men were kept
anonymous and their DNA
was assigned a combination of colors.
Here is Graham talking about
this color system in 1994.
- When we send to each donor
the vials for him to fill,
the cap on each vial
will have his color on it
so that he will know he's going
to be properly identified.
- So for example, the catalog offered DNA
from Mr. Orange-Red.
He was described as a graduate student
involved in genetic research.
Mr. Orange-Red was also
listed as having fair skin,
golden blonde hair, and a six-foot-four
225 pound frame, with Austrian ancestry.
Under traits the catalog wrote
"Very handsome, superb physique,
warm, happy, confident."
It also mentioned Mr. Orange-Red enjoyed
martial arts and ping pong.
And that he played the piano
and came from a long line
of talented professional individuals.
Graham also marketed
his sperm bank to women
who were members of Mensa,
which is a selective high IQ society.
So there was an air of
exclusivity attached
to Graham's Nobel Prize sperm bank.
There also weren't any heavy fees
or complicated steps involved.
Women only had to pay shipping fees
of 50 to $100 for their chosen sperm.
Graham's team would mail
vials of frozen sperm
to women or their doctors.
These vials then had to be thawed and used
during the woman's ovulation cycle.
More often than not it
required several cycles
before women can get pregnant,
and some women never got pregnant at all.
Graham also funded the entire sperm bank
through his own personal funds.
And estimates have suggested
it cost the millionaire
hundreds of thousands of
dollars a year to operate.
But despite the heavy
cost and low success rate,
the program did help
some women bear children.
Through the late eighties
and early nineties,
the Repository actually produced
about 15 to 20 kids a year.
In total, more than 200 kids were born
but in 1997 Graham passed
away and the future
of the Repository was left
to his wife and children.
They eventually decided to end
the sperm bank, and in 1999
the Repository for Germinal Choice
officially closed its doors for good.
The Repository destroyed all
of its remaining DNA samples
and no one is sure what happened
to the sperm bank's records.
But in the years that passed,
some journalists have actually
been able to track down
some of the kids who were
born thanks to the bank
and they tried to figure out
if Graham's lofty ideas came to fruition.
So they set out to answer these questions.
Would these kids be
multi-talented, healthy
and creative super geniuses?
And are genes really
that much more important
than a person's environment or upbringing?
Pretty early on the media found a kid
who seemed to answer those questions.
This is nine-year-old Doron Blake.
His mother Afton Blake named him
after the Greek word for gift.
Doron was the second child
born thanks to Graham's genius
sperm bank and he quickly
became the poster boy
for the Repository for Germinal Choice.
As a newborn he could mark time
to classical music with his hands.
By age two, he was using a computer.
In kindergarten he was reading
Hamlet and learning algebra.
And by age six his IQ measured 180.
In the eighties and nineties,
Doron quickly became a media darling.
He and his mother were featured in outlets
like the New York Times
and People magazine.
Doron was well-spoken, kind and creative.
He also had big goals for his future.
- I knew that I would wanna be some kind
of scientist when I grow up or somebody
that would help the
world be a better place.
- As Doron grew up, the
media continued to follow him
but as Doron aged he didn't
exactly share Graham's
ideas about intelligent selection
improving the human race.
And he didn't become a
scientist or a world leader.
- There was a lot of hype
around me when I was younger
for sort of being a genius.
Children don't live up to expectations,
it's not their job.
I'm still intelligent,
that hasn't gone away
but I certainly wasn't the valedictorian
of my high school class.
- Doron would go on to
get his Bachelor's degree
in Psychology from the
prestigious Reed College.
Later he got a Master's degree
in Education from Harvard.
Today he's a self-employed father of two
working as a private
tutor where he trains kids
in math, science and
standardized test prep.
Doron told the BBC he
thinks Graham probably
would have looked down
on his chosen profession.
He said, "My guess is Robert Graham
"probably doesn't have a
tremendous amount of respect
"for that occupation...you know.
"I do, I think it's a
very important occupation
"that's why I'm doing it, but
my guess is that Robert Graham
"would not share that sort of value
"and would probably feel
like what I'm choosing to do
"with my life is a bit of
a waste of my aptitude."
Doron has said that he thinks
that having an exceptionally
high IQ does not equate to
the measure of a person.
He prides himself instead on
characteristics like kindness.
So far the Repository for Germinal Choice
hasn't produced any Nobel Prize winners.
And because the sperm banks
records have been destroyed,
we don't know if all of
Graham's children had high IQs
or were successful in their chosen fields.
So while Graham's lasting
impact may not have been
in the creation of Nobel
laureates, his Repository
has left an immutable effect
on the sperm bank industry.
The Nobel Prize sperm bank
was the first to ever offer
families a detailed choice
when it came to their donor.
And the comprehensive
catalogs Graham offered
potential mothers were revolutionary.
Prior to Graham's sperm bank,
physicians controlled a
lot more of the process.
And potential families had a
much more anonymous experience.
It was pretty typical for
parents to know a little more
than the eye color of their donor.
But today almost all sperm
banks in the United States
have catalogs of donors
that include information
like race, height, weight,
eye color, and blood type.
A lot of the sperm banks
also offer even more
detailed information like
education level and occupation.
Fairfax Cryobank is one
of those sperm banks.
The company is super
selective about their donors.
In the past, Fairfax's lab
director has said they only
accept less than 1% of the
men who apply to be donors.
On the company's website
potential clients can be really
choosy about the DNA they want.
There are selections for height, ancestry,
hair color, eye color, and education.
Some donors even have their
baby pictures available.
Potential families can
download audio clips
and essays from some donors for free.
And for purchase, potential families
can get a detailed report
on a donors personality,
an album of adult photos and
full length audio interviews.
The company even offers
something they call
Fairfax FaceMatch,
where a potential client
can match themselves,
or even someone famous
to their donor's using a photo.
All this choice for potential
mothers and families
means that sperm banks
today have moved closer
to Graham's approach.
And there certainly is
still some debate about
whether on some level sperm banks
are participating in eugenics.
But this is the part of the video
where we wanna pass the
question off to you.
Do you guys think it's a good
thing that potential families
have all of these choices when
it comes to finding a donor?
Or do you have some concerns
about how sperm banks
have changed over the years?
Let us know in the comments down below.
And hey, just before we
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My name is Maria Sosyan and
thanks again for watching
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