Blog written by CLI Director of Operations Michelle Ottey, PhD
Working in Donor Sperm is a serious business. It is a highly regulated and regimented working environment where days are filled with strict protocols, processes, paper work, screening, and quality assurance. It takes a commitment to quality and attention to detail to do it successfully. On the other side of this is you: the client who is looking for a donor to start or build your family. Choosing the right donor for you is a unique experience and very dependent on your situation. For infertile couples it can be highly emotional and often difficult because you are dealing with medical infertility, your role within your relationship, and grieving. Single women and lesbian couples also have significant emotional issues related to the conception of their children from making the initial decision to have a child through the issues surrounding the need to bring in a third party to conceive.
Though there is a significant seriousness to this process, having a sense of humor and looking at things with an open mind and lightness can help make choosing a donor, dare I say, FUN.
These donors; wonderful interesting men, are providing half of your prospective child’s genetics. And though we do not know how much of our personalities are hard wired, it seems smart to choose a donor not just for his ethnicity or height, but also for his interests and academic achievement.
Often times, when starting the donor search, people “know what they are looking for” but come out on the other side with something quite different. You will find, as you navigate through donor search engines that it is easy to identify men who meet height, weight, blood type, or even education credentials that you require. You will also find that it is now easier to find men with common interests in academic subjects, artistic or culinary skills, or the same favorite animal! Looking for these types of personality traits and interests is fascinating and allows patients to connect to the whole picture of what could be passed on to your child. You will be able to hear the donor talk about his favorite games from his childhood or listen to him describe his favorite character from his favorite book. This type of information gives you real insight into the kind of person he is rather than just seeing test scores or type of degree which is less revealing and less personal.
Not everyone is interested in this in depth information, and for those people there are more basic donor searches. The best Cryobanks allow clients and patients to get as much or as little personal information as they feel comfortable knowing. And the best Cryobanks have diverse pools of highly qualified donors for you to choose from in your quest to start or build your family.
