Male Infertility
Ordering Donor Sperm

Reproductive Biology Associates, Inc.
Lab Phone (404) 459-3469
Lab Fax (404) 256-8376

After you have seen your physician and made the decision to proceed with the use of donor sperm for intrauterine insemination or for insemination of eggs with IVF, the following steps should be taken to choose and obtain donor sperm:

Consent

You will discuss the donor sperm consent with your physician or a member of the nursing staff. After all of your questions have been answered to your satisfaction, you will be asked to sign the consent.

Pre-screening lab work

You, and your partner (when applicable) will complete the screening lab work required prior to initiating a donor insemination or IVF cycle. This includes the following blood tests: HIV, Hepatitis B Surface Antigen, Hepatitis C Antibody, RPR, Blood type and Rh.

Choosing a Sperm Bank

Contact commercial sperm banks to determine which bank you would like to use for obtaining a specimen. When choosing a sperm bank, some of the questions to ask the bank follow:

1. Are you accredited by the AATB (American Association of Tissue Banks)?
2. If your state regulates tissue banks, are you inspected and licensed by them?
3. Have you been inspected and are you currently licensed by CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment of 1988)?

Some of the banks that we are familiar with are listed below, however this is not an endorsement of those banks:

A directory of sperm banks can be found at www.spermbankdirectory.com.

Choosing a Donor

Sperm banks with web sites post lists of available donor sperm online giving basic information about the donor. Banks will also mail current lists to you. Some banks make more informative “donor profiles” available on the web, while others will fax or mail donor profiles upon request. There is sometimes a charge for these expanded profiles. Banks may offer photo matching, audiotapes or videotapes to aid you in your selection. Most of the sperm banks have trained staff to answer any questions about the donor process that you may have. You should have several donor choices selected when you call to place your order, in case your first choice donor is no longer available. Trained genetics and psychological counselors are available on a referral basis. Information on how to set up an appointment is available from members of the nursing staff at RBA.

• Sperm banks state a minimum number of motile sperm that should be recovered from each vial. RBA’s lab considers a comfortable number of motile sperm for insemination to be 10 million motile sperm.
• The medical treatment that you undergo may require inseminations two days each cycle, commonly called “back-to-back” insemination. Discuss this with your physician to determine how many vials will be needed for insemination for each cycle. IVF patients should order 2 vials of donor sperm for a cycle of IVF.
• Also, it may take several cycles or more to achieve a pregnancy. Patients may chose to order enough vials for two or three cycles at one time to save on shipping costs (~$50 to $140 per shipment).
• If a pregnancy is achieved and there are unused vials remaining, you may continue storage of the vials for a sibling pregnancy at a later date. There is a yearly storage charge.

If it is important to you to use the same donor for subsequent pregnancies, you will want information from the sperm bank about the likelihood of being able to obtain specimens for “sibling recall” pregnancies.

What Type of Specimen to Order

Specimens are frozen in straws or vials. Either is acceptable. Specimens are available as “unwashed”, intended for intracervical insemination (ICI), or “washed”, intended for intrauterine insemination (IUI) and IVF. In this medical practice the procedure performed is intrauterine insemination. If an unwashed specimen is used for intrauterine insemination, it must be washed in the laboratory after thawing and before the procedure. This preparation removes the seminal plasma, which contains proteins that cause a reaction if placed in the uterus. Although washed specimens are more expensive to purchase, in our experience washed IUI-ready specimens yield more motile sperm for insemination. Your doctor also may have a preference, and should be consulted before this decision is made.

Blood Type

One of the most important characteristics to consider when ordering a specimen is the blood type. This factor is especially important if you wish to keep the donation private. The sperm banks and your physician will help you with this selection.

Costs

• When you order:
  
  • Costs vary from $150 to $220 for each straw or vial, determined by and payable to the sperm bank.
  • Cost of shipping varies from ~$50 to $140, determined by and payable to the sperm bank.
  
  
• When the laboratory receives the specimen:
  
  • Cost for receiving the specimen in our lab is $150. This charge covers receipt of the specimen and transfer to our storage tanks, entering the specimen into our records, arranging return of the shipping container to the bank and storage for 12 months.
• After one year the patient will be billed $150 for the next year or partial year of storage.
• When you are inseminated:
  
  • A $125 - 150 (depending on the type of specimen)  fee will be charged by the laboratory for preparation of the specimen.
  • There will also be a fee for the insemination procedure from the physician. You may ask your doctor’s administrative assistant about this charge.

When to Order

You may order your specimen at any time, but order as close as possible after cycle day one. It is preferable to order on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday so that the specimen does not arrive on a weekend. The lab must be informed immediately after you have ordered your specimen. Please call 404-459-3469 with the following information. This is a secure voice mailbox and you may leave a message if we are not able to answer.

• Name, Social Security number, date of birth
• Cryobank name, donor number
• How many vials or straws were ordered? Are they IUI ready (washed) or ICI ready (unwashed)?
• Date ordered, date to be shipped
• Visa/MasterCard number, expiration date and name of card holder for payment of $150 handling and storage charge
• A phone number where you can be reached, and whether or not the answering machine there is Secure for a message.

The lab must receive this information before they receive the specimen so that the specimen can be stored appropriately.

Click here to view/print the Checklist for Donor Sperm Orders