HERMANN J. MULLER 
The method that first brought this possibility into view is of 
course that of artificial insemination with semen derived from 
a donor, ‘““AID’’. Unlike what occurs in the usual practice of 
AID, however, the germinal material here is to be chosen and 
applied primarily with a view to its eugenic potentialities. 
Preferably it should be selected from among banks of germ cells 
that have been subjected to long-term preservation (see, for 
example, references 2, 4b, 4c, 5, 8, 9). 
It was long ago found that human semen will recover from 
freezing, even from deep-freezing, and that in the latter state 
it can probably be preserved indefinitely. Glycerol and other 
additives have been found by Drs. Polge, Parkes, Sherman and 
others to aid the process. Such preservation will allow the 
accumulation of larger, more diverse stores, their better ap- 
praisal, and the fading away of some of the personal biases and 
entanglements that might be associated with the donors. At 
first sight the most unrealistic of the proposals made, this method 
of eutelegenesis or germinal choice, turns out on closer inspection 
to be the most practical, effective, and satisfying means of 
genetic therapy. This is especially true, the more reliable and 
foolproof the means of preventing conception are. 
THE ADVANTAGES OF GERMINAL CHOICE 
The Western world is a chrysalis that still carries, over its 
anterior portion at least, a Victorian-looking shell, but wings 
can be discerned lying latent beneath the surface. Despite the 
protests of some representatives of traditional ways and doc- 
trines, a little searching shows that a considerable section of the 
educated public, including outstanding leaders in law, religion, 
medicine, science and education, is prepared to take a sym- 
pathetic interest in the possibilities of germinal choice. As for 
the public at large, that of the United States, which has on the 
whole been more bound than that of Europe to old-fashioned 
ways, is now taking in its stride the practice of AID for the 
purpose of circumventing a husband’s sterility. In fact, it is 
estimated!° that five to ten thousand American children per year 
are now being engendered in this way, and the number is 
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