On the Place du 11-Novembre in Bondy, this Saturday, around ten purple silhouettes are distributed around a barn and a van. Everywhere, the same slogan: “Make parents”. Onlookers pass back and forth in front of the entertainment, their eyes intrigued. And when we talk aboute the subject in question with young people, they laugh. The subject? An operation aimed at encouraging sperm and egg donation, launched by the Biomedicine Agency.
In France, among the 15 million adults aged 20 to 49 who have tried to have a child, one in four couples (24%) have encountered difficulty conceiving, according to Inserm. On the other hand, only 676 people donated their gametes in 2023, and more than twice as many would be needed to meet the rapidly growing demand, according to the Biomedicine Agency.
“I had never heard of it”
“I explain to people that it is important to allow people who wish to do so to become parents,” says Frédéric Letellier, a 44-year-old volunteer, purple raincoat on his back and glasses on his head, himself a former donor. Alma, a 37-year-old mother of Italian-Moroccan origin, dressed all in white, walks her dog a few meters away. “I had never heard of gamete donation,” she admits.
According to a volunteer, many people do not know that this type of donation is authorized in France, confusing medically assisted procreation (PMA) and surrogacy (GPA) *.
A taboo subject
Once we explain to her what gamete donation involves, Alma, a Muslim, is surprised. “I know that artificial insemination is authorized by Islam but if it is done with the husband’s sperm. With someone else’s sperm… I’m imagining…” she continues, her eyes amazed behind her golden glasses. And she’s not the only one who has questions. “I find it interesting but I don’t know if it is authorized by Islam,” asks another Bondyn resident, lying on his bike, affirming however that “blood donation, for example, is authorized.”
On the square, at lunchtime, passers-by can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Volunteers target “young people”, because only men aged 18 to 45 and women aged 18 to 37 can donate their gametes. If some people know the subject, talk about it willingly and ask a lot of questions, others lower their heads and pick up the pace as soon as the theme is understood. “When people seem resistant, I don’t insist,” explains a volunteer.
“Infertility is a very taboo subject in our culture,” assures Alma, whose dog is starting to get agitated. Rayan, a 34-year-old father, returning from his shopping, claims to know the subject but admits to never having asked himself the question of a possible donation. “Maybe it’s because I’ve never been faced with this problem, neither myself nor anyone close to me.”
A lack of donors from diversity
Doctor Thierry Miatti, member of the Afrique Avenir association, was specially recruited for the Bondy stage. “I try to explain to people from Afro-Caribbean communities that we particularly need them. » This is the reason why the Biomedicine Agency chose the city of Seine-Saint-Denis for the Ile-de-France stage. And because there is a Cecos (egg and sperm study and conservation center) in Bondy. Johanna Lousqui, medical biologist, works there. This Saturday, she is responsible for informing passers-by and registering volunteers on a list, in her van. “We lack donors, but even more donors from diversity,” she insists.
Among the questions most often asked is that of the donor’s responsibility. “Since 2021, anonymity can be partially lifted when the child comes of age, but we must lift the fantasy of the donor who will be part of the child’s life,” supports the doctor. This is precisely the question Rayan asks himself. “It’s a question of responsibility. But there are two: both that of helping others and both that of the child born from a donation. » Before leaving, he assures, “I will think about it, but in a philosophical way”.
Break preconceived ideas
Alma, above all, fears the risk of inbreeding. “The world is small and I would be afraid to marry my brother,” exclaims, half worried, half amused, the mother. This is precisely why the bioethics law of 2004 establishes a limit of ten births per donor.
Two and a half hours after the start of the operation, still not a single registration. “It doesn’t matter, the aim is above all to inform them of the problem of the lack of donors. And then, it’s normal that people who hear about it for the first time need time to think,” says the biologist. A little seed that she hopes to see grow.
* As a reminder, surrogacy (and surrogacy) are prohibited in France. But medically assisted procreation is authorized for heterosexual couples, female couples and single women. And, depending on the case, sperm or egg donation may be necessary.
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