A Brave Journey

Posted on October 2, 2012 by admin

Blog written by Fairfax Cryobank Director of Operations, Michelle Ottey, PhD.

I had a family party this weekend where I was able to spend time with my nieces and nephews. These are great kids that range from 2 to 8 years of age. We talked, played, danced, and sang together. They are a lot of fun, but not without challenges. Whenever I spend time with them I gain a greater appreciation for the work, commitment, and energy it takes to be a parent.

After 5 hours I was spent! They are balls of energy and I will admit that I cannot keep up with them. It was wonderful to see how much my oldest nephew has grown and is starting to mature at the ripe old age of 8. I have seen his entire life and watched as his parents learned to parent him, then learned to parent two kids then three. I have watched not only these amazing babies turn into interesting kids, but also watched their parents evolve to meet the needs of their kids.

All of this started me thinking about the amazing courage and strength it must take for women and men using donor sperm to begin the process of parenting, which I believe starts the minute you decide to try to have a child.

Those of you who turn to sperm banks to provide the donor sperm necessary to achieve pregnancy are courageous and amazing.

Using donor sperm adds another dimension to the journey to parenthood. We at CLI sperm bank have an appreciation for this process and for the emotions wrapped up in the journey. Some Sperm Banks can appear very product driven, but there are those of us who recognize that your need for donor sperm is part of a bigger picture. That is why we have developed services based on client comments and requests, why we have made the search for a sperm donor more interactive and dynamic. This is also why the staff at the Sperm Bank has a great respect for all of our clients and each individual journey.

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Sperm Donor Myths and Misconceptions

Posted on September 12, 2012 by admin

I have written before about the myths and misconceptions of sperm donation; everything from men thinking they can just walk in and donate one time to sperm counts differing week to week. There are still many myths and misconceptions out there, so I thought now would be a good time to debunk a few more.

Myth: One ejaculate is one vial of sperm. OR One ejaculate is 15 vials of sperm.

Truth: This is completely dependent on the quality and fresh analysis of the ejaculate in question. The sperm count and motility/progression determine how the sample will be processed and how many vials will result. Because our current Specimen Quality Standard is to have 10 million TMC sperm cells/vial we do some math that determines the total number of vials that can be made from the ejaculate. Sometimes this is 1 vial, sometimes it is 10. The average number of vials/ejaculate is around 4-5 depending on the prep type.

Myth: Donors donate 2-3 times a week, sometimes for years at a time.

Truth: Our Cryobank works with our sperm donors to determine the optimal number of abstinence hours for them to produce the best quality sample. The majority of our donors produce once a week. Our program requires the donors to donate for a period of 6 months though many of them stay in the program a bit longer.

Myth: You can assume that every vial equals a pregnancy.

Truth: On average it takes up to 4 inseminations to achieve pregnancy, similar to the success rates of traditional fertilization. Depending on the procedure and the prep type of the donor sperm sample, this can be 4-8 vials.

Myths: Sperm Banks are unregulated and do whatever they want to do to make money.

Truth: Sperm Banks are highly regulated by the FDA and various other state governments. Many sperm banks are also AATB accredited and all follow the guidelines of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM.) Sperm Banks also have internal policies that are developed and followed to meet the needs of the donors, the recipients, and the offspring. These internal policies cover everything from the number of vials that are produced for each donor and the number of Family Units for each donor.  Cryogenic Laboratories, Inc. developed a policy in 2008 that limits the number of Family Units for each donor to 25. We rely on pregnancy and birth reporting to track this, as well as limiting the number of vials that a donor produces. We monitor these numbers monthly.

 

Posted in About CLI, Becoming a sperm donor, Client Depositor Sperm Banking, Donor Sperm, Pregnancy, Working at a sperm bank | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Success Story

Posted on August 27, 2012 by admin

Check out this great success story on It’s Conceivable. This couple used Cryogenic Laboratories to conceive their child! Here is what they said when asked why they used CLI as their sperm bank.

“For sperm we used Cryogenic Laboratories, they were one of about 6 sperm banks recommended by our RE. We honestly picked them because it was cheaper and we were able to find a donor fitting what we wanted.” -Amy & Elizabeth’s Story

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I have a headache?

Posted on August 21, 2012 by admin

When asked about why and how we compensate our donors I often hear comments about how being a sperm donor is so easy. I am not going to argue that the actual donation is complicated, obviously it is not. What can be complicated are the many hours of abstinence required. This is of course, ignoring the weekly trips to the clinic to donate, the period blood tests and physicals, the constant updates on their health, etc.

About 20% of our active donors are married and a large majority of our unmarried donors have serious girlfriends. We ask our sperm donors to come in with around 72 hours of sexual abstinence, meaning no ejaculating for 3 days. This requires our guys to think ahead, schedule, and if necessary reschedule.

We are obviously flexible, but committing to this program means committing to the requirements of the program. It is serious and time consuming and we appreciate all of our guys and the women in their lives. We know that you all appreciate them too!

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What did you say?

Posted on August 9, 2012 by admin

Blog written by CLI Family Forum Moderator Desiree

Last year I wrote a blog article, Forum Abbreviations Explained, which
helped new CLI Family Forums users navigate the technology lingo often found
throughout the forum.

I thought I would revisit some of these commonly used abbreviations and add a few I have encountered over the past year. Here are a few common medical abbreviations used on the forum that are usually found in posts discussing inseminations or pregnancy testing.

AF: Aunt Flo – female menstrual cycle

OPK: Ovulation Predictor Kit

BBT: Basal Body Temperature – used to pinpoint when ovulation has occurred and determine future patterns for predicting ovulation

LH: Luteinizing Hormone – hormone that increases briefly just prior to ovulation

POAS: Pee On A Stick – in reference to taking a home pregnancy test

HPT: Home Pregnancy Test

hCG: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin – hormone produced by the body that pregnancy tests use to establish positive results

Beta: beta HCG levels are tested at a physician’s office to confirm pregnancy

BFP: Big Fat Positive – Pregnant

BFN: Big Fat Negative – Not Pregnant

IVF: In Vitro Fertilization

FET: Frozen Embryo Transfer

Now that you understand some of these abbreviations you can confidently join the discussions of the CLI Family Forums.

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How old is too old?

Posted on August 3, 2012 by admin

Blog written by CLI Family Forum Moderator Desiree

Is 40 really the new 30? Members of the CLI Family Forum say so with a resounding yes! There are many reasons people are waiting longer to have children nowadays. Sometimes it is because Mr. Right hasn’t shown up yet. Sometimes couples struggle with fertility issues for years. Sometimes women are career focused and just not ready to make that commitment. Whatever the reason, more and more women are choosing to become pregnant and are having healthy babies well into their 40’s.

No matter what your age is, the forum discussion boards are a great place to lend support and receive encouragement from others who may be experiencing similar fertility issues.

Check out this great thread about conceiving at an older age: being pregnant at 41

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Is that a fact?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by admin

The World Health Organization states that an average male ejaculate is approximately 2mL. That is almost equivalent to 2/5 of a teaspoon in liquid, which is a pretty small amount. The specimen collection cups we use can hold up to 120mL, about 60 times the amount we would normally see from a donor.

On more than one occasion, when handing a potential donor the collection cup, you will see their eyeballs bulge and mouths drop open, and then feebly ask, “Am I supposed to fill up the whole cup”?

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The Miracle of Life

Posted on July 10, 2012 by admin

Blog written by CLI Laboratory Staff JH

The thought of starting a family was always something that I knew I wanted for myself, and when my husband and I found out that we were pregnant with our first child, I couldn’t have been more ecstatic. Obviously, there was a moment of terror initially after grasping the thought of nine months of pregnancy while also considering the potential risks for myself and my child. But as I said, it was only a moment of terror that disappeared quickly after knowing that we would experience the miracle of life personally – and that in itself was enough to get me though the initial fears.

It wasn’t until the moment I knew I was pregnant that I really grasped the idea of what our company does for our patients. I couldn’t relate personally to the patients or understand the amount of effort (both physically and mentally) they were having to put in to attempting to conceive a child. But I can attest to the feeling I felt knowing I was pregnant, the feeling I had every time my child moved in my belly – I understood completely the ultimate gift that our patients were trying to achieve; a child of their own.

I can only begin to explain the gratification I get from knowing that I am helping single mothers, infertile couples, and same sex couples have the opportunity to see their dream of having children come true. I wouldn’t give up the feeling of being pregnant for anything, and I am honored to say I work for a company who gives chances to those who may not have had the ease of achieving a pregnancy like I did. It is a wonderful feeling and a wonderful miracle that every person should have the opportunity to experience.

 

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GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on June 25, 2012 by admin

Blog written by CLI Lab Director Michelle Ottey, PhD, HCLD

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! That was the subject line of an email I recently received. Being the Lab Director, I do not have a lot of patient contact. I work with the lab staff and the Compliance Officer, but ever so often I have the chance to work directly with a patient.

Several months ago our Director of Client Services contacted me because there had been an inquiry about one of our donors who had no samples available for purchase at the time, he had a wait list. I replied directly to the inquiry and had a lovely exchange with the patient. She and her wife had found the “perfect donor” match and really wanted to make it work. We emailed about the process that the donors go through and the required quarantine of 180 days for all samples. I was able to tell her that this donor was in fact due for a draw and so the possibility was that vials would become available, but it is always dependent on the testing.

Everything worked out smoothly and as soon as vials were available they purchased them, enough to keep some in storage for a sibling. The patient was ecstatic.

Several months went by and on a Monday morning I was thinking of them, thinking that they must have had their insemination and could be pregnant. Later that day I got the email that confirmed that they were indeed pregnant. We had another lovely series of emails.

Now I am looking forward to the email in my inbox with a picture of their baby.

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No Dad? Great book to help kids understand

Posted on June 13, 2012 by admin

Check out this great article from twincitiesonline.com about a single mother who used donor sperm from CLI to conceive her daughter. It is a heart-filled story about one of many struggles that most single mothers encounter.

Based on her experiences, a book was written to help other single mothers talk to their children about not having a dad. It is called Nan’s Donut Dilemma by Mary R. Ryan.

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