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Donor Sperm

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The use of donor sperm is necessary for single females, same sex lesbian couples, when severe male factor infertility such as azoospermia (absence of sperm) exists, or for any other reason precluding the use of the male partner’s sperm or when a male intimate partner is not part of the picture.

There are several FDA certified donor sperm banks in the United States and we will be happy to provide you with a list of those banks that have successfully provided samples for our patients in the past. Advanced Fertility Care permits the use of any sperm bank as long as it is FDA certified and can provide the proper documentation with the sperm samples that are sent to our center. For your convenience, below is a list of several sperm banks patients have used in the past, however, there are several others available. Sperm is sold in individual vials which are available in various preparations:

  • ICI Ready (Intracervical Insemination): These are unwashed sperm samples that will require further processing by our andrology laboratory. This is the recommended type of sample for artificial insemination (IUI) performed at Advanced Fertility Care since this allows our trained andrologists to verify the individual sample counts which are reported by the sperm cryobank. Many sperm cryobanks will offer guarantees as to the quality and concentration of sperm in their specimens. In addition, it is often less expensive to purchase an ICI ready sperm sample.
  • IUI Ready (Intrauterine Insemination): These are prewashed samples that will not undergo further processing after receipt. There is less quality control since we cannot verify the counts or motility of the sample we have received from the sperm bank. In general, these samples are more expensive than ICI Ready.
  • IVF or ART Ready These samples generally have lower numbers of sperm with lower motility since lower numbers are sufficient for IVF or IVF with ICSI. These samples may be purchased for the use in IVF cycles only.

CMV (Cytomegalovirus) Testing

When purchasing donor sperm one must first know the CMV status of the female recipient. CMV (cytomegalovirus) is a community acquired virus that many people have had exposure to unknowingly and in general causes no harm except for cold-like symptoms at initial exposure. However, if CMV is contracted during pregnancy it can lead to miscarriage or birth defects. Women who have had previous CMV exposure (determined by a simple blood test) can select male donors with either CMV negative or positive exposure status. Women who have not yet been exposed to CMV and therefore have no immunity, should restrict their choice of donor to those that are CMV negative only. These distinctions will be found on every donor sperm bank website or listing.

Cost of Donor Sperm

The cost per vial of frozen donor sperm varies from sperm bank to sperm bank and is also dependent on the type of sperm being purchased (see above). Costs per vial can range from $200 to as high as $600 per vial. In addition, shipping costs, which average $150-200 per shipment can add significantly to the cost of using donor sperm. We recommend patients consider the number of attempts and number of vials they wish to purchase in order to have multiple vials shipped at once. In addition, if couples wish to secure sperm from the same donor for multiple children, this should be considered as well prior to the purchase.

Sperm Cryopreservation Banks

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