How It Works

HOW IT WORKS – SHIPPING

After purchasing vials of your selected donor and completing all required paperwork, the next steps in the process are…

Step 1

Booking a Shipment

Shipments not scheduled at the time of the vial purchase can be booked separately at a future date. There are two options to book a shipment:

Call SSB’s Client Services Team at 206-588-1484 to book over the phone.
Click the “My Account” button and scroll down and find the “Donor Inventory” heading. Select the number of vials to ship and click the “Ship” button to add them to the cart.

We encourage patients to schedule the arrival of the units at least 2-3 business days prior to the scheduled insemination date. SSB’s ships orders out Monday through Friday. Standard shipping within the continental United States is two business days. Overnight shipping is available to some domestic locations for an additional fee. For deliveries to Alaska or Hawaii (outside of Anchorage or Honolulu), please schedule the arrival of the units at least 3-4 business days prior to scheduled insemination date.

Ship early – Plan Ahead. Early shipments are strongly encouraged to plan around possible shipping delays due to weather, holidays, etc.

Requested arrival dates are not guaranteed by UPS or FedEx.
Our shipping tanks hold the specimens frozen for 7 days (up to 14 days for with the 2-week tank upgrade) to help you plan ahead.
Be aware of special restrictions to booking a shipment.
- 12:00 pm Pacific Time is the M-F deadline for having your shipment request completed if requesting shipment the same day. (No shipments leave over the weekend.)
- Holiday closures can be found on our website here.

** If booking a tank shipment to retrieve a vial from your clinic to send back to SSB, please call your clinic prior to booking the shipment to ensure you have all possible documents/fees resolved on their end.

Step 2

Check Your Receipt

We encourage patients to check their email for the receipt from the shipment transaction.
Whether booking the shipment yourself or by calling in to our Client Services Team, please double-check your receipt right away for any typos that may have occurred. SSB can easily correct items before shipment, including…

Patient Name
Date of Birth
Clinic Name/Attention To
Shipping Address
Delivery Date

Edits to Shipping Options (overnight vs. 2-day shipping)

Step 3

Check Required Paperwork

There are three pieces of paperwork that are necessary for shipment.

The all three forms can be found on our website.

Purchaser Semen and Storage Agreement
- Required for all clients purchasing vials from our donor on the website.
- Found here in the green box.
Clinic Release Form
- For all clients shipping to clinics in the State of NY and other specifically required by the clinic, found here in the yellow box.
- For all clients shipping to a non-medical address, such as a home/workplace, or picking up at our Seattle location, found here in the blue box.
Informed Consent Form
- If a donor is a carrier for a genetic condition, the Informed Consent Form will be required one time for each donor.
- That form can be found by clicking this button on your selected donor’s web page.

** If making a purchase through our Directed Donation & Personal Storage Program,

please see STEP 7 below for specific information related to these programs.

Step 4

Tracking Information

You will receive tracking information to watch the progress of your shipment. On the date of shipment, UPS/FedEx sends an email with tracking information. That number will begin to track once the package has arrived at their Seattle-area hub and been scanned into their system. If this information is not received by the next morning, please reach out to Client Services Team to request that tracking number.

Check with clinic to ensure receipt of package. Once the provided tracking information shows that your shipment has arrived, please feel free to contact your clinic to ensure they have received the package.

For more information about tracking your shipment, please call the shipper directly.

UPS General Customer Service: 1-800-742-5877
FedEx General Customer Service: 1-800-463-3339

Step 5

Handling Instructions for Residential Deliveries

Special instructions for handling the package and vial(s) will be included in with the shipment.

Be sure to keep the box upright at all times.
Specific instructions for handling, storing, and thawing the vial(s) can be found…
- On paperwork included with the package.
- In the video on our website here.

Step 6

Return Your Tank

Return labels and instructions for returning the empty tank will be included with the initial shipment.

Clinic Deliveries: In most cases, the clinic will return the tank for you. SSB will reach out if there is a delay in receiving your tank return. If they ask you to return the tank, please see below.

Residential Deliveries: Call the number on the instruction sheet for your specific shipping company or bring it to the UPS or FedEx location for shipment.

Step 7

Directed/Known Donor and Client Depositors

Shipping of Directed Donor (DD), Known Donor (KD), or Client Depositor (CD) vials requires additional and/or different steps/paperwork than is listed above. Please check with your Directed Donor Coordinator for required paperwork specific for your chosen option, which may include…

Recipient Semen and Storage Agreement
Statement of Risk
Quarantine Waiver

Shipping DD/KD/CC vials requires the two-week tank upgrade. Because these vial types are irreplaceable, SSB requires all shipments of DD/KD/CC vials to have the longest tank timeline to protect against and delays in shipment.

More information on the DD/KD/CD program, including through descriptions and pricing, can be found on our website here.

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