August 9th, 2023

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The Vikings are hotter than ever!

Series such as ‘The Last Kingdom’ starring among others Danish actors Thure Lindhardt, Andrea Vagn Jensen and Peter Gantzler and ‘Vikings’ starring Søren Pilmark, Marco Ilsø and Alex Høgh Andersen in prominent roles are some of the more recent examples from the world of fiction.

But also, in the real world the Viking brand has proved to be in high demand in both the UK and the countries previously colonized by the British.

As a result of the Viking Age, and the Vikings’ relationship with England, which lasted from approximately 800 to 1150 AD, the genetic legacy in the UK has left the population with up to six per cent Viking DNA.

As the British went on to conquer the world – or at least a very substantial part of it – so did the Viking DNA. Interestingly, history is now repeating itself. About 1000 years later Viking DNA is once again conquering the world to an extent which the old school Viking colonizers and pillagers dramatized and romanticized in the series mentioned above could only have dreamt about.

Need for Viking sperm

This time the development is, however, not forced through but invited in.

The reason is the growing challenge of infertility in many western countries and the resulting demand for “Viking sperm”, which Danish companies such as the European Sperm Bank og Cryos International are struggling to meet.

In the UK the customers are predominantly well-educated, white, and wealthy single women looking for a profile that fits their ethic preference. But the UK is just one market and the demand for Viking DNA doesn´t stop there.

Cryos International exports about 96 percent of the sperm donated and the European Sperm Bank have customers across Europe as well as in both South Africa and Australia. Consequently, the DNA of the young male students which is the typical donor profile extends far beyond the reach of their Viking ancestors. 

I was young and needed money

As a former sperm donor – like most other donors I was young and needed the money -, with a genetic profile of approximately 25 % African and 75 % Viking I was labeled a “yellow donor”.

As such my sperm was “exported” to countries looking for a more “Mediterranean” look and not women looking explicitly for the Viking DNA. But under the brown eyes and dark curly hair even these donations obviously carried with them quite a bit of Viking.

As the figures above and my personal story illustrate, the future is unpredictable. The time might have come for a genetic Viking renaissance. The Vikings might again rock the world!