Transfer rules for lesbian couples

gretagreta Posts: 57
in Ask California Cryobank
Hi Scott,

Can you please explain to me why it takes a month to transfer vials to my partner's name so that they can be shipped out to her? All we were told is paperwork.

Basically, we purchased vials together (I guess the initial paperwork was done in my name). I conceived with this donor (yay!). Now my partner wants to conceive with him also. We were all set to have our vials shipped and begin trying this month. Only to find that there is a) a rule that we have to transfer vials to her name first, and b) this will take a month! Obviously, very disappointing for us since we will now miss a cycle.

He is retired so we are unable (I believe, unless you know something that I don't) to just buy a couple more in her name until this paperwork is complete.

The additional problem is that I will (hopefully) be carrying our 3rd child so now we have to transfer vials to my partner's name, only to transfer them back again to my name when I want to conceive? There just must be a better way that conforms to the realities of a lesbian couple's situtation -- we can not be the only couple out there who each plan to use the vials to carry a child.

Anyway, that is our situation. Do you see any other alternatives for us? Is it really going to take a month, and if so, why?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Greta

Comments

  • qmjhqszqmjhqsz Posts: 50
    greta, we had the same situation and here's what we did:

    1. ship all remaining vials to our re's office.
    2. filled out their paperwork to transfer the vials from me to my dp (they were notarized)
    3. re changed their paperwork to note that dp is the legal "owner" of the vials
    4. it acutally worked out cheaper for us to store the vials at our re's office

    no offense to CCB but this was the best situation for our family. i do think it's ridiculous to have to do any paperwork at all but i'm sure it's some government regulation. what SHOULD be done is that both women are allowed to be on the same account and have equal rights to the vials.

    hth,
    g
  • cryo-admincryo-admin Posts: 4,547
    Hi All -

    We realize it is a less than ideal situation. Unfortunately, our hands are tied by a number of issues.

    Regardless of an individual's personal situation (hetero, lesbian, single), we can only have one person as the owner of the account; a husband, wife, partner, mother, sister, or friend can not ship out vials in their own name. The account owner is the only one authorized by the physician to receive and use the vials (like a perscription).

    While a lesbian couple's needs may be very different from the others in terms of needed flexibility, we still need to be able to track outcomes of insemination. If both women were ordering from the same inventory it could potentially be very difficult for us to track who exactly we were shipping to. As you can imagine, accurate record keeping is crucial in our industry.

    I realize the 4-6 weeks of paperwork for the transfer may seem excessive, but there is actually a lot that goes on. If you are at risk of missing a cycle, we are certainly happy to do everything we can to expedite the process.

    Your physician may be able to store your vials long term for a resonable fee. The advantage to leaving your vials with us is the free storage ability to sell them back. Of course, you will have to pay shipping each time you place an order, so deciding how many vials you think you may or may not use is important to the equation. Since both of you are planning on using them, sending them all in one shipment is probably your most cost-effective option.

    Best wishes,

    Scott
    CCB
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