General FAQs
Click on the question below to see the answer.
How do I get started?
What information is available on the donors?
Does CLI offer adult photos?
How do I order donor information?
What services does CLI offer to help me select a donor?
What is CLI's privacy policy?
What medical and infectious disease tests do you run on the donors?
Should I be concerned about the donor's blood type?
How often do you get new donors?
Why do donors choose to donate?
What is the donor age range?
How many pregnancies is each donor permitted?
Can I be contacted when a donor I want has a low inventory?
Does CLI offer waitlists?
Can I reserve units for future siblings?
What if the donor I want is sold out? What are my options to get more units?
How do you verify information provided by the donor?
Is there a quality standard that CLI sets for all the donor samples?
Can I use a friend as a donor?
How do I report a pregnancy?
Do you have a vial exchange program?
How do I get started?
Please see our Getting Started section of this website for more details.
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What information is available on the donors?
See details on donor information here.
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Does CLI offer adult photos?
Lifetime Photos
which include adult photos are available on a select group of our donors. Donors provide a series of photos from infancy through adulthood. Donors who have Lifetime photos available will be indicated as such on the donor search with a camera icon. For more information about this exciting service click on: Lifetime Photos.
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How do I order donor information?
Donor products may be ordered on line by accessing the donor search feature. Most donor information is downloaded for FREE or if you prefer you can contact Client Services to order donor products over the phone for a fee. Products ordered over the phone will be mailed to you via U.S. Postal Service, which should be received within 2-5 business days.
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What services does CLI offer to help me select a donor?
CLI's Client Services can answer any inquiries that you may have, provide donor availability, and also guide you through the selection process. Patient information packets may be ordered online or by phone. Photo matching and the donor selection consultation may also be helpful tools to assist with your donor selection. You'll find that the information you receive using these services are a more comprehensive and in-depth look into particular donors.
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What is CLI's privacy policy?
Read our Privacy Policy here.
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What medical and infectious disease tests do you run on the donors?
See a complete list of all testing performed on our donors as well as view the rigorous screening process all donors must pass.
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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. 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.
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How often do you get new donors?
We typically add approximately 1-4 new donors each month. The donor register is updated daily online in pdf format and through our donor search feature which reflects the addition of any new donors.
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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.
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What is the donor age range?
All donors must be between 18 and 39 years of age.
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How many pregnancies is each donor permitted?
Read our policy on pregnancy limits here.
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Can I be contacted when a donor I want has a low inventory?
Unfortunately we do not have the technology to automatically notify patients of donor availability. You may contact Client Services to check on a particular donor's availability, or do so by going online to our donor search feature 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.
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Does CLI offer waitlists?
As a courtesy, CLI 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. For more details, please see our waitlist FAQs.
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Can I reserve units for future siblings?
Yes - you can purchase extra units and open a storage account. The only way to guarantee availability is to purchase and store the requested donor specimens when available. CLI will be happy to assist with setting up a storage account.
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What if the donor I want is sold out? What are my options to get more units?
You can place your name on a CLI waitlist for that donor and only if units are returned from storage (units that have never left our facility) will they be offered to those on the waitlist to buy. CLI also offers a Donor Reactivation program for donors who have left our program. If a donor has reached his maximum limits on family units or total sales, then reactivation of that donor may be available for sibling pregnancies. The Donor Reactivation program is available only to patients seeking additional children by the same donor. Our Donor Reactivation program will attempt to locate, re-screen and re-qualify the donor, collect and quarantine the donor specimens for six months. After the 6 month quarantine period, the donor will be re-tested. Following negative test results, specimens will be made available for insemination. CLI cannot guarantee that the requested donor will be available for participation in the Donor Reactivation program. A donor search fee, processing fee, infectious disease testing fee and specimen storage fee is required prior to initiation of the search. The fees typically amounts to several thousand dollars.
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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.
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Is there a quality standard that CLI sets for all of the donor samples?
All of our donors must meet a minimum post-thaw (PT) total motile sperm count (TMC). ICI (unwashed) specimens have a minimum PT standard of 18 million TMC. IUI (pre-washed) specimens have a minimum PT standard of 10 million, and the IVF specimens have a minimum PT standard of 5 million TMC per vial..
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Can I use a friend as a donor?
CLI has a program specifically designed for the Designated Donor, i.e. a known donor for a known recipient. Working with and through the recipient's physician, we will provide the forms required for this transaction and the proper testing of the Donor. We will assist with the preparation of the specimens and the required quarantine prior to use. It must be emphasized that the Designated Donor will be screened, tested and quarantined in the same manner as CLI's Anonymous Donors.
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How do I report a pregnancy?
You may report your pregnancy online at the following link: Report Pregnancy
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Do you have a vial exchange program?
Cryogenic Laboratories appreciates our storage client’s business and would like to accommodate their wishes if possible. Exchanging old doses for an equal number of doses of another donor and/or prep is only authorized within 36 months of when the original doses were placed into storage at CLI. Storage clients are eligible for one vial exchange per calendar year. Doses that have left CLI are not eligible for exchange or refund.
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