Sperm Banks


What are they and How Do they Work?

Sperm Bank or Sperm Cryobank refers to a facility in which a person's collected sperm can be frozen and stored for safe keeping. It is also the place where sperm donors can donate their sperm and have it frozen and stored to be used at some point by those struggling with infertility.

There are many reasons why a couple might want to freeze the man's semen. If he has been diagnosed with cancer and has to undergo chemotherapy or other medical treatments that can affect the quality of his semen, then cryogenically freezing it would be the best alternative. Another common use of a sperm bank is to provide a way to find and match a donor to a couple struggling with infertility.

Services Offered by Sperm Banks:

Therapeutic Sperm Banking

Men undergoing cancer treatment, including some types of chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery, face the possibility of temporary or permanent damage to their fertility. Although physicians will inform a patient of which treatments could harm their fertility, the physicians can not always predict the extent to which fertility may be affected or for how long the effects will last.

The most promising option for a couple facing this situation and desiring to have children in the future is to have samples of the man's semen cryogenically frozen and preserved for their future needs. This process is known as therapeutic sperm banking. This type of sperm banking is also available to men undergoing the procedure known as a vasectomy, and allows them the option of having a child in the future.

Occasionally therapeutic sperm banking is available to men undergoing other medical treatments or being exposed to environments that could be harmful to their fertility, but it is usually discussed with a physician beforehand.

Sperm Donation

A sperm bank can also be a very useful tool for a couple who is having trouble with infertility. In some cases a man will have a drastically low sperm count or there could be any number of other causes for infertility. Sperm bank services begin by analyzing the man's sperm to try to determine the source of the problem, whether it can be remedied and whether a sperm donor is necessary for conception.

If sperm analysis shows that a donor is in fact needed, the sperm bank provides services to help you find a donor, then puts the donor's sperm through rigorous testing for volume, viscosity, pH, sperm count, motility, morphology, and even forward momentum before being subjected to extensive STD testing to ensure the health of the child.

Selecting a Sperm Bank

Sperm banks vary widely in terms of the number of available donors, types of available donors (ethnically and educationally), completeness of available information, kinds of medical testing, profile types (long and short), cost, release of identity, availability of washed and unwashed sperm, and how, where, and to whom they will ship.

Some sperm banks choose donors for characteristics other than quality and health such as, intelligence, achievements and genetic quality. You must research many different banks and the services they offer before choosing the one that is right for you.

By Elysse Kimberlin           


Related Links:

  • N.W. Andrology and Cryobank
    Sperm Bank that provides information on everything from different types of insemination to what they look for in a donor.