SYDNEY (Reuters) - Politicians in one Australian state have been asked to lend a hand and become sperm donors to help arrest dwindling supplies at an in-vitro fertilization clinic. The Monash IVF clinic has written to 25 parliamentarians aged under 45 in Victoria state asking them to set an example for the rest of the male population by becoming sperm donors.

We hope that if some of the leading role models within our community become donors, others may follow suit," the Monash letter said. Monash IVF clinic medical director Gab Kovacs said the clinics' stocks had been dwindling since a state law came into force in 1998 requiring that only men who were prepared to have their identities released could become donors. A Monash spokeswoman said the clinic had about 100 clients on its books and only 13 donors. The clinic was yet to receive any answers from interested MPs, she said. Victoria Police Minister Andre Haermeyer said he hadn't been asked to become a donor but wondered if politicians were suitable candidates. "It could create a rather quarrelsome family, I would have thought," Haermeyer told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.