What accreditations, registrations and licenses do they have?
Sperm banks MUST be registered by the FDA. Its a requirement. If a bank isn't registered by the FDA, stay clear. Always call to double check a banks qualification if they don't list their registration or accreditations on their website.
Sperm banks may be accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), but this is voluntary.
They are required to be licensed by a state department of health under CLIA if they have a clinical laboratory.
In addition, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) publishes guidelines that most sperm banks follow.
We list each bank's accreditations on their bank profiles in the fertility professionals search.
What type of screening does the bank perform?
One of the most important things the sperm bank does is screen sperm donors and the sperm itself in order to reduce the risk from potentially harmful diseases.
In addition, sperm banks measure the sperm's motility.
Do all donors receive a physical exam that includes blood testing?
Does the bank review the donor's family medical history going back one or two generations?
Does the bank personally interview each donor?
Do they perform genetic screening or chromosomal analysis?
Does the bank track medical history?
Tracking the donor's medical history is extremely important. Suppose your donor comes down with a genetic disease after you've already had children using his sperm?
Your child could have the same disease. In certain cases, you might be able to use the information to take preventive action to protect your child.
It's extremely important to ask the bank: Do you track the donor's medicacl history and will you notify me of any changes?
Does the bank track pregnancies?
Tracking pregnancies is important for two reasons.
First, tracking pregnancies is the only way to know how many children have already been born from a particular donor. Unfortunately, tracking pregnancies is not always easy, because often women are so happy to be pregnant they don't report it to the sperm bank.
Second, it’s the only way the sperm bank can provide you with any new medical information that becomes available about the donor you used.
Does the bank limit the number of donor pregnancies?
There is no law limiting the number of pregnancies allowed from one donor, but medical professionals agree that the number should be kept low in order to avoid consanguineous complications among offspring conceived by the same donor.
Different sperm banks follow different guidelines to limit the number of pregnancies from a single donor.
How many years has the bank been in business?
The longer a sperm bank has been in business, the more experience and customers they're likely to have. On our Sperm Banks page, we show the number of years each sperm bank has been in business.
Does the bank perform a freeze test?
Some donors' semen freezes better than others'. The sperm bank should perform a freeze test to determine how well the semen freezes.
Does the bank ship using nitrogen?
Donor sperm must be frozen to a very cold temperature in order to preserve it for long periods of time. The best way to ship sperm is in a dry nitrogen vapor dewar (a tank kind of like a thermos that's charged with liquid nitrogen).
Sperm will stay viable in a nitrogen tank for at least seven days, even longer if the tank is fully charged. Some banks may offer dry ice as an option because it's cheaper, but most fertility specialists don't recommend this.
What kind of cryoprotectant does the bank use?
Sperm banks use a cryoprotectant to improve freezability. Some cryoprotectants can cause an allergic reaction which may be serious.
For example, egg yolk can cause allergic complications whereas glycerin is safer. Your doctor can recommend a bank whose procedures he/she is comfortable with.