Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Sperm Bank
While considering an accredited sperm bank or one that has a good reputation is likely to improve your chances of selecting a reliable one, Resolve: The National Infertility Association based in Somerville, MA, also offers another way. It recommends screening about everything from their methods of record keeping to their testing of donors. Here is Resolve's list of recommended questions:
- Do you keep a medical history on the donor?
- How long do you keep these records?
- Do you offer a service where adult children conceived through donor insemination can have access to the donor's medical records if necessary?
- How much non-identifying information about the donor do you provide to the consumer?
- Do you keep track of the number of pregnancies achieved per donor?
- Do you require the donor to stay in your program for a specific time or provide a minimum number of donations in a six-month period?
- What are the costs to store pre-purchased, reserved specimens?
- Can I purchase and store sperm so that I can use the same donor for a second child?
- If the specimen received is inadequate (poor motility, abnormal morphology or low count), what is the sperm bank's responsibility?
- Does your information on each donor include:
- Religious background
- Ethnic/cultural background
- Educational background
- Physical characteristics
- Do you screen for:
- Sickle Cell Anemia
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- HIV (AIDS)
- Cytomegalovirus
- Chlamydia
- Mycoplasma hominis
- Syphilis
- Tay-Sachs
- Genital warts
- Gonorrhea
- How often are the screening tests repeated?
- Do you check the donor's blood type?
- Do you test the donor for HIV?
- Do you use a donor's sperm before he tests negative for HIV/AIDS?
- Do you follow the recommendation of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) for holding specimens for 180 days before retesting for HIV and only then using the specimen?
- Do you do genetic testing on donors?
- What is the minimum age of your donors?