Choosing a sperm donor takes time, effort, and emotional energy. When you do find the right one, you want to be sure the vials of sperm you order match your donor selection. Seattle Sperm Bank's proprietary SURE-CHECK system ensures this. It guarantees the chain of custody for donor identification from beginning to end, giving you greater peace of mind. Trying to conceive can be stressful. Knowing you have the right vials eliminates some of the worry so you can focus on getting pregnant and...

As a Client Services Coordinator at Seattle Sperm Bank the past three years, Katie Couture spends a lot of time talking with clients. Which is fitting considering she's currently working on a master's degree in counseling. She uses her skills to help match clients with the right donor while also guiding them through the entire process. In this interview, she offers advice to potential clients including the best questions to ask when choosing the right fertility clinic. Describe a typical work...

    By Rita Sneeringer, MD Reproductive Endocrinologist Boston IVF All women deserve the opportunity to experience parenthood. For me, it's a very special honor to support women through fertility treatment as they grow their families, and I'm continuously in awe of the strength and resilience of each patient that comes through my door. Encouraging my patients to become as informed as possible is one of the most important ways I advocate for women. There is no one 'right' way to...

At Seattle Sperm Bank, we’re always looking to improve our methods for selecting healthy sperm donors. This benefits our clients looking to conceive using donor sperm as well as the donors themselves. One major way we do this is by continually updating our approach to genetic testing as technology improves. And we’re proud to offer the most comprehensive genetic testing of donors of any licensed sperm bank in the U.S. Our current testing covers up to 100 genetic conditions. Along with using...

  Much goes on behind the scenes to prepare donor sperm for use. In this post, we outline the process to help you understand what happens before vials arrive at your door or your clinic for use. We’ve written previously about how we carefully screen our sperm donors. So, once sperm quality is confirmed, samples are processed and concentrated into small batches and then placed into vials to be frozen. A compound is added to help facilitate the freezing process. Usually made of glycerol,...

When you’re trying to get pregnant using donor sperm, timing is everything. You need to time the shipping and arrival of your sperm samples. You need to time your insemination attempt. And most of all, you need to know the time frame when you're most likely to conceive—meaning your all-important fertility window. It’s a lot to remember. Fortunately, there’s technology to help you with that in the form of apps that track the signs and symptoms of fertility. But which one to choose? App prices...

Christine Ulbrich is a Donor Coordinator in Seattle Sperm Bank’s Phoenix clinic. Along with recruiting donors and helping them navigate the application and interviewing process, she also helps clients from our Seattle clinic select the right donor. What is a typical work day for you? My work days vary a lot. My main tasks include checking donors in and making sure their applications are complete, setting them up with blood work, reviewing donor profiles, doing genetic reviews, and ensuring all...

  If you or someone you know is a healthy man between the ages of 18 and 39, you may have what it takes to become a sperm donor. Since the number of women and couples who choose to extend their families with the help of donor gametes continues to grow, sperm donors are in high demand across the U.S. and the world. Currently, there is a need for us to diversify our ethnic selection of sperm donors, especially African American, Latino, and Hispanic men. These groups are in high demand yet...

  As a Client Services Coordinator at Seattle Sperm Bank, Kandy Lindstrom keeps busy. She handles multiple duties ranging from interacting with donors and potential donors to fulfilling Internet orders. But she spends the bulk of her time talking with clients and helping them start families. This includes helping with photo matching, answering questions about the process, and matching women and couples with the right donor. In this interview, Kandy shares advice for choosing a donor, what...

  For many women and couples, their first step toward parenthood with donor sperm is performing a home insemination. Some people find this to be a more comfortable and affordable method of conception compared to starting off in a clinical environment. This procedure, also known as intracervical insemination or “ICI,” can be an effective option for women with no fertility issues that can complicate their efforts. It involves using a plastic, needle-less syringe to inject the donor sperm...