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Frozen sperm lifespan + retirement
eeden
Posts: 20
Hello. I have gone through the donors and found my top 5. One I like the most donated in 2012. I am worried that the sperm being so old might make it less potent. I am also wondering if/when you retire vials. For instance, I am saving to purchase the 4 vial family today deal and planning to start in 2019. Will the 2012 donor be retired by then? This is donor 13465. Thanks so much!
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@eeden Once cryogenically frozen, sperm cells do not age over time. Whether the vial is thawed 10 days later or 10 years later, it will have the same expected outcome. We actually have a fertility preservation program where young teens may store their sperm prior to cancer treatment and the vials might not be used for decades until they are ready to start their families.
"Retired" basically means that the donor completed the donation portion of our program. (Donor 13465 finished donating about 5 years ago.) When it comes to vials, we can't really predict how quickly they may sell. It's possible that Donor 13465 may not be available in 6 months, so it's good to have other options, just in case. Please keep in mind that if your physician has given you the green light, you can also purchase vials in advance and keep them in storage until you're ready to ship them.
Regards,
Nicole
California Cryobank
@cryo-admin Thank you for your quick response. I am curious about the donation portion of the program. Do donors donate a specific amount? Is it the same for everyone? Does this continue until the donor or bank decides enough has been donated? It seems like some donors come back years later to continue. I am curious about how that works. Thanks!
@eeden You're welcome! Donors are typically in our program for about a year, but that can vary. Going home for college breaks, traveling abroad, and career changes are a few examples of how their scheduling with us can be disrupted.
We limit the amount of vials that we collect & distribute. Our maximum goal is 25-30 family units per donor worldwide.
I'm not sure if you have an example of a donor that you've seen come back years later, but that is extremely rare. I think you might be referring to reactivation, where a client with a donor-conceived child requests additional vials for sibling use. For clients that want to use the same donor for more than one child, we recommend purchasing and storing vials for future use. Reactivation is an uncertain, expensive, and lengthy process. The donor would have to go through the entire donor qualification process as a new applicant and it's the client that pays for the testing and donor's travel expenses. You can read more about this here: https://cryobank.com/services/post-conception-services/donor-reactivation/
Regards,
Nicole
California Cryobank