The cryobank accepts only college graduates or students enrolled in a four-year program. And donors must stand at least 5 feet 9 inches tall. By the time it weeds out the sickly, the short, and the dim, the California Cryobank accepts only 3 percent to 5 percent of applicants. The cryobank barrages customers with choices. A recent catalog listed more than 170 men of every race, national origin, and appearance.
Some donors make audiotapes that clients listen to.
Rothman insists there is a difference between his standards and Graham's. Graham, he says, was telling women they must choose geniuses. He says he is simply responding to market demand. The California Cryobank supplies tall collegians because that is what women want. This attention to consumer choice has boosted the sperm-bank industry.