Posted March 30, 2012 at 11:38 AM by Claire

I had a good experience with California Cryobank. I used the same ID release donor for my 2 daughters, with excellent sperm counts and quality. I got pregnant first try with my older child, and second try with my younger child. During my cycle to conceive my first child, I bought 10 vials of the donor's sperm. Shorly after conceiving, I learned that CCB had mistakenly place the wrong donor's vials in my storage, and my donor was sold out. CCB accepted responsibility for the error and was diligent about fixing it over the next few months, including giving me 2 free vials for my trouble. It was stressful but I was happy with the way they dealt with their error. My second child was born with congenital hearing loss (genetic tests to date do not indicate it is genetic in cause). I've been in continuing contact with their geneticist and she has been excellent at following up with me to learn of my child's genetic test results, so that they could inform other parents if a genetic cause had been found. CCB is communicative and responsible, in my experience, and I recommend them.

Posted July 5, 2011 at 1:20 AM by Kim

Another vote for The Sperm Bank of California. I researched 2 or 3 other banks is California and others nationwide.

Despite the fact that TSBC offered NO donor photos, voice recordings etc, I still chose them over other banks due to low family limit per donor, well supported identity release program, vial prices and general accessibility/professionalism.

Quick example - I had a anxiety promoting experience with TSBC wherein there were NO nitrogen tanks available to ship vials and my ovulation was fast approaching.

The TSBC reps worked with me (as did a wonderful woman at a local sperm bank here in Chicagoland) to come up with an alternate plan so I didn't have to "waste" a cycle (egg!!!)

Since I first became a client (2007), TSBC has started offering photos of donors providing the donors choose to provide one. Luckily for us, our identity release donor was one that decided to add photos! Yay!

Posted May 3, 2011 at 6:25 PM by Rachel

The Sperm Bank of California does not dilute their sperm with fillers like many other banks do. An ejaculate yields two vials. Some sperm banks expand that natural amount to six vials. You can imagine what that does to potency.

Posted April 29, 2011 at 3:21 PM by Evelyn

I entirely agree with Chrissy! The Sperm Bank of California was great & easy to deal with. Their website is simple, but not flashy; their profiles are very personal & thorough. Their ethics are great for both the donors & recipients. And they are very open-minded: more than half of their clients are single women or lesbian couples!
I'm expecting my little one in ~6weeks!

Posted April 17, 2011 at 8:59 PM by Chrissy

If I understood Mikki correctly, she was asking for us to post here with specific feedback on our experiences with sperm banks. I worked with TSBC (The Sperm Bank of CA) and highly highly recommend them for a host of reasons. In no particular order...
- They are a non-profit (only one in the country to my knowledge.)
- They've got roots in a feminist health center (tells me that they've got a history of being woman-centered and feminist, both important for me.)
- They have a long standing (even pioneering, I think) donor identity release program (win-win for the child and mom, in my opinion, and jibes w my research pointing to 'the less secrecy the better' for families using donor-conception.)
- They do extensive social research on the well-being of donor-conceived individuals. (I'm glad that my child has the option of getting identifying information about the donor, particularly from these folks who seem to care so much about the donor-conceived children.)
- They are small, and therefore can offer a surprisingly personal interaction during the process (for example, I talked about one of my possible donor choices w a staff member, and it was clear she actually knew who he was, and she passed along on small details that weren't in the short or long profiles, such as general demeanor, quirkiness, etc.)
- Although they are in Berkeley, CA about as far from me as they could be, they're on a street I've actually been on. (Strange, I know, but it was another thing that made me want to use them!)
- They had useful/helpful advice when I wanted it (on website, in written materials, on phone.)
- They have an unusually low family limit for each donor, thereby greatly reducing the number of half siblings my child has.
- They were completely and swiftly honest when snafus happened. (My first, and agonizingly/obsessively deliberated-over, donor choice turned out to have the special distinction of being only the second donor in their history to be 'taken off the shelves', and the director herself called me to explain the situation, apologize, and make a plan for what to do about it.)
And of course I mostly love TSBC because they helped me become a mom, which has been the greatest joy in my entire life.

Posted March 22, 2011 at 2:46 PM by Jessica Lenz

Great work in putting this together Mikki. This will be invaluable to the Choicemom community!