DONOR SPERM: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

How do I get started?
The first step is to select a physician who is familiar with the donor insemination process to perform your procedure. We also suggest you review our patient information packet. Our information packet is available online in pdf format. If you prefer you can request the information packet be mailed to you by filling out our online form or by calling our customer service department at 800.338.8407.  Click here to get started.

What information is available on your donors?
Fairfax Cryobank's free products for our donors include: summary profiles, essays, and staff impressions which are available on this website through the online donor search. All donors also have medical profiles available. Most of our donors have additional personal profiles, childhood photos, and audio interview CDs. A limited number of donors also have Lifetime photos, which include adult photos. These products are available for purchase on this website at a discount or by contacting customer service. Click here for more detailed information on these products including samples of each product.

Does Fairfax Cryobank offer adult photos of its donors?
A limited number of our donors have consented to a release of adult photos. Adult/Child Photo Sets include a childhood photo and a current adult photo. A second type of photo set, called the Lifetime Photo Series, includes a series of photos from infancy through adulthood. Donors with either photo set available have a camera icon on the online donor search.  Patients will be required to sign a consent form prior to purchasing these photo sets.

What is an ID Consent donor?
Fairfax Cryobank's ID Consent donor is the newest donor category. ID Consent donors agree to have identifying information (name, address, phone number, and date of birth) released to offspring only at age 18. Donors must be at least 22 years old to participate in the program and agree to maintain yearly contact with Fairfax Cryobank. Recipient patients are required to sign a consent form before purchasing ID Consent donors.   ID Consent donors may or may not have adult photos or lifetime photos available.

Are donors who have adult photos or lifetime photos available also ID Consent?
The programs are entirely separate, but a few donors have selected to be both ID consent and offer adult photos.

How do I order profiles and other donor products?
You may order donor products online by accessing the online donor search. The donor products ordered online are available at a discount and are accessible immediately upon purchase for you to print or save to your hard drive. Or if you prefer you can contact customer service to order donor products over the phone. Products ordered over the phone will be mailed to you through the U.S. Postal Service, which you should receive within 2-3 business days.

What services does Fairfax Cryobank offer to help me select a donor?
Fairfax Cryobank customer service can answer any inquiries that you may have, provide donor availability, and also guide you through the selection process. A patient information packet can be obtained through customer service as well or by completing our online request form. You'll find that the information you receive using these services is a more comprehensive and in-depth look into particular donors.

What is Fairfax Cryobanks' privacy policy?
Anonymous Donor Program
Fairfax Cryobanks Privacy Policy protects the confidentiality of all parties involved and specifies that the anonymous donor program at the current time is "closed," which dictates that the donor's and recipient's identities remain anonymous.  All donor and recipient records will be maintained indefinitely and we will not compromise the anonymity between the donor and the recipient.  In certain medically necessary circumstances, we will, upon physician request, attempt to obtain specific additional donor medical or genetic information and testing.

ID Consent
Certain new donors have consented to ID Consent. These donors agree to a limited release of identifying information when offspring from their donated sperm reach the age of 18. Donors who are currently in our anonymous donor program cannot participate in this program.

What medical and infectious disease tests do you run on your donors?
See a complete list of all testing performed on our donors as well as view the rigorous screening process all donors must pass.

How is your Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) testing different than the type of testing used by other sperm banks?
In addition to excluding donors with known risk factors and positive physical examinations, we test for HPV using a proven technology, DNA by PCR, a reliable Nucleic acid Amplification Test.  PCR is significantly more sensitive than traditional testing methods and looks for the actual presence of the HPV virus. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted viral disease worldwide. Some types of the virus cause common skin warts. High risk types (eg, HPV-16 and HPV-18) have been associated with anogenital cancer, particularly cervical cancer.  The March 2001 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommended HPV testing of sperm donors.  Please click here to read more about our HPV testing.

How do you test for Herpes in your donors?
Instead of just relying on physical evidence of an active outbreak of genital herpes (presence of lesions) we use the molecular genetic (DNA) technique PCR (polymerase chain reaction). This testing is offered through the GIVF Molecular Infectious Disease Lab (MIDL).  MIDL is truly a cutting edge facility which is CLIA certified and dedicated to infectious disease diagnostics using exclusively high quality Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) DNA amplification technology. Molecular infectious disease testing by PCR directly detects pathogen-specific nucleic acid, rather than relying on cultures, immunoreactivity, or serology to identify the organism.  Please click here to read more about our HSV testing.    

Should I be concerned about the donor's blood type?
Some patients feel that the blood type of the donor is very important when choosing a donor. By selecting a donor whose blood type matches the husband's/partner's blood type, patients may feel more secure about issues related to confidentiality. The donor's blood type may be medically important to consider if the mother is Rh negative (Rh-). These women may develop antibodies to a fetus that is Rh positive. It is also important to remember that children do not always inherit the same exact blood type as their biological parents. For example, a couple with blood types of A and B could have an offspring with any of the four blood types: A, B, O, or AB. Click here to use our blood type predictor tool. Please keep in mind that if you elect to use the blood type of a donor as one of your selection criteria, you will decrease the number of donor choices available to you.

How often do you get new donors?
We typically add about 1-4 new donors each month. The donor register is updated daily through our online donor search and reflects the addition of any new donors.

Why do donors choose to donate?
During the required face to face interview with our experienced staff, donors often express the desire to help those who are unable to have children of their own. They may have observed similar experiences with family or friends and are therefore looking for a way to make a difference. Donors also receive monetary compensation for their time. 

What is Fairfax Cryobanks acceptance rate for donors?
A rigorous evaluation process screens all donor applicants. Fairfax Cryobank accepts only about 3% of applicants.

What is the age range for your donors?
Fairfax Cryobank accepts donors between 18 and 39 years of age.

How many pregnancies is each donor permitted to have?
Each geographical region based on population size will have a specified number of pregnancies allowed per individual donor. Our geneticist gathers and reviews pregnancy information provided by doctors' offices, considers each geographical location, and informs our Customer Service Representatives when a donor is restricted for sale due to pregnancies achieved. The determining numbers are not disclosed.

Can I be contacted when a donor I've used has low inventory?
Unfortunately we do not currently have the technology to automatically notify patients of donor availability.   Please contact customer service to check on a particular donor's availability. You can also check availability through our online donor search which is updated daily. Under the Availability column a "yes" indicates there are more than 20 units available, "no" indicates there are 0 units available, and "call" indicates there are less than 20 units available. The best way to ensure donor availability is to purchase and store units for future cycles or family building. 

Does Fairfax Cryobank offer waitlists for the donors?
As a courtesy, Fairfax Cryobank does offer waitlists for donors who do not have any inventory currently available but are expected to release units from quarantine sometime in the future. Please see our waitlist FAQs.

Can I reserve samples for future offspring?
Yes. You can purchase extra units and open a storage account. Please click here for more information on storage at Fairfax Cryobank.  If you later decide you no longer want donor sperm units you can return them for 50% reimbursement of the original purchase price if the units have never left our facility.    

How do you verify information provided by the donors?
During the rigorous screening process we ask many of the same questions in several different formats to assess the validity of the donor's answers.   We also make a copy of the donor's drivers' license and school transcripts. Any inconsistencies in the donor's answers exclude him from the donor program. 

Is there a quality standard that Fairfax Cryobank sets for all of the donors?
All of our donors must meet a minimum post-thaw standard of 35% motility. ICI and IUI-ready specimens must meet the minimum post thaw standard of 20 million total motile cells per milliliter (ml) concentration or 10 million TMC per vial. The IVF specimens must contain a total of 5 million motile sperm per vial.

Can I choose the sex of my baby?
Fairfax Cryobanks parent company, the Genetics & IVF Institute, has a department called MicroSort  that specializes in gender selection for prevention of X-linked genetic diseases and family balancing. Donor sperm from Fairfax Cryobank is also available for gender selection by MicroSort under certain circumstances. The process is currently in clinical trial and its use by couples requires their informed consent. To see if you qualify for the MicroSort trial, please contact MicroSort at 800.277.6607. Click here for more information on MicroSort.

May I speak with a staff member who has worked with the donor?
Due to many requests from patients to talk to a staff member who has worked with a particular donor, we now offer Staff Impressions free of charge through our online donor search. Laboratory staff members who have worked closely with the donors write the Staff Impressions. Donors who do not have staff impressions available are no longer active in our program and we do not have staff members familiar with the donors.

Whom do I notify to report a pregnancy?
At the present time we ask that your physician report the pregnancy. A pregnancy report form is included in the shipping tank with every order. If your physician needs another copy of the form, please contact customer service and we will mail or fax the form to their office.