Quality Matters at Seattle Sperm Bank

Here at Seattle Sperm Bank, quality is one of our top priorities and a constant endeavor. We truly stand behind our products with pride and confidence. If you ever have a problem or question concerning your vial quality, please contact us so we can work with you and your clinic to resolve the issue.

Quality Matters… and Counts

To ensure the highest possible quality product, we perform a post-thaw count on one vial from every lot to confirm the sperm survive the freezing process and still meet our high standards.

Our fully trained Biological Analysts perform a post-thaw count on one vial from every lot to confirm that the number of motile sperm in our vials meets our minimum quality standard of 10 million motile sperm per IUI vial and 15 million motile sperm per ICI vial. Due to the nature of counting a motile biological specimen and the wide variety of sperm counting systems on the market, actual vial counts obtained by an outside laboratory can predictably vary up to 25% from our target counts. As such, IUI vials counted by your clinic with at least 7.5 million motile sperm per vial and ICI vials counted at 11.25 million motile sperm per vial are considered within an acceptable range of our target motile sperm count. A variation in count does not mean that the specimen is of poor quality or that a pregnancy won’t result if used for insemination.

For more information about the vial types available for purchase and distribution, please visit our Vial Types webpage.

If you have any questions about vial quality and your vial was counted at more than 25% below our minimum quality standard, please have your clinic fill out this Form and return it to SSB. Please note that any additional shipping and/or handling of the specimens that was not authorized by Seattle Sperm Bank will void SSB’s quality guarantee.

Please note that our IUI ART, ICI ART and ICSI vial types contain less motile sperm than our standard IUI and ICI vial guarantees, and do not qualify for replacements or refunds. In addition, please note that our guarantee applies ONLY if our thaw procedures are followed and applies to specimen at the time of thaw, prior to any post-thaw processing.  Additionally, any orders placed for delivery to a non-clinic address (residence, place of work, UPS/FedEx Store, etc.), do not fall under our routine Quality Guarantee, as motile sperm count(s) cannot be verified by a trained andrologist or embryologist. Additionally, any claims of receiving a thawed cryotank or thawed vial(s), will need to be verified by sending the vial(s) back to Seattle Sperm Bank, with the return of the cryotank, for microscopic verification that the specimen was thawed and not used for insemination.”