midwest cryobank vs. california cryobank

lauraalice26lauraalice26 Posts: 50
in Ask California Cryobank
Hi there
I was just wondering why such a huge price difference between you guys and midwest?

I have compared because my friend is using midwest and loves their service. They get free long profiles and baby pics and her donors count has been great etc..but they are only 200.00 each iui vial. Im thinking about switching over next month if their is no obvious difference between california and midwest just because it would be nice to save 400.00 a month on iui costs.
thanks,
Laura

Comments

  • misskrismisskris Posts: 44
    I just went on their website- BIG difference in price and now I may consider using them. Im going to review more of their candidates. Im sure the same FDA guidelines are followed and the sperm is just as safe but I would like to know whether pregnancies have occurred or not. CA Cryobank charges alot more I think because of all of the info thats available, but I personally do not care about the darn interviews and so on. Has your friend gotten pregnant yet?
  • lauraalice26lauraalice26 Posts: 50
    yes she has gotten pregnant,a very adorable two year old boy and now she is using them again for her second iui. she loves the people there and actually recommends them..
  • JustThinking10JustThinking10 Posts: 28
    I checked just out of curiosity, and they told me they don't do baby photos at all. Maybe I was on the wrong site. Regardless, I'm happy with this bank AND the donor I've chosen! I think everyone needs to do what works best for them...but I also think there is another person involved that you need to think about. What if your child wishes they could have just a few more pieces to their genetic history? What if they wished they could hear the sound of the man's voice that gave them life? What if they'd like to know where they got their love of animals from....or why they're shy around people? I think we need to consider that these children aren't just here for our needs...they have needs and that need to be addressed, too! I want to give my child everything I can about their donor. If I can't give them the actual father, I can at least make them feel like there was another caring person involved in their creation. I feel like I owe it to my child to help complete their family history...even if I can't provide the father in daily life. Remember...the child didn't ask to be here and they didn't ask to be without a biological father. I think if we're going to bring them into this world, we should at least give them all we can! Just my two cents!
  • lauraalice26lauraalice26 Posts: 50
    Hi justthinking10,
    i totally get what you are saying, but it's not like that in my case..im happily married, been for four years, he's going to be the father. No one knows we are going donor, not even the future child. Anyways..so all the extra stuff that this cyrobank offers to us is not all the important, im only interested in the family history and what the donor looks like, for the most part..and the full free profiles on midwest tells everything you would need to know.
    thanks for your imput, but i still dont see the difference between those two.
    anyways, best of luck to you :)
    im using this cryobank this time and doing my first iui in beginning of nov..hopefully it works!
  • cryo-admincryo-admin Posts: 4,538
    Hi All -

    CCB is the largest and mst successful sperm bank in the world for a reason - quality specimens, outstanding donor selection, and 100% commitment to customer service. We are far and away the number one choice of reproductive physicians and have been for over 30 years.

    Choosing CCB to help start your family means choosing:

    The most accreditations in the industry, includng AATB, CLIA, FDA, State of CA and State of NY. We wrote the regualtions that the FDA uses. We were the first sperm bank in the world to quarantine vials to protect our clients against transmitable disease and do more genetic testing than any other bank. One example... We began SMA testing on all active donors over two years ago -- you should check and see if MW has even started (since it is not yet part of any regulated testing requirements).

    CCB operates 4 labs around the country near the nation’s top universities (Harvard, MIT, Stanford, UCLA, NYU) providing significantly more donor options to our clients. Our screening standards are the strictest in the industry, with less than 1% of applicants passing to become donors. We also employ 3 fulltime genetic counselors and a medical board of directors that include experts in male fertility, laboratory operations, genetics, and frozen tissue banking – all of which help us provide the absolute highest quality sperm banking experience in the world.

    As a result of this quality control and high standards, our operational costs are significantly higher than other banks while our vials are only slightly higher and (in most cases) our shipping fees are actually less.

    I am not very familiar with MW, so all I can tell you is to do your homework and make what you feel is the best choice for your family.

    I wish you both the best of luck. I hope this is a holiday season to remember for both your families!

    Regards,

    Scott
    CCB
  • AuntieNicAuntieNic Posts: 12
    okay, im sorry to butt iin here, maybe it's just my emotions, but seriously? Quality specimens? Outstanding donor selection? 100% committment to customer service?

    I have purchased 3 vials of 12167. Im not pregnant yet. I used clomid, and follistim. I have no fertility issues.

    My donor pickin's are slim, and just today, when I attempted to select a different donor, each one that I wanted was no longer "in stock," and the comparisons, if you want to call it that, were no where near what I was looking for, and even some of those were "out of stock."

    Additionally, I attempted to order some vials, and it was after your business hours. I got an error message everytime I attempted to place the order. I tried it 4 times. What gives?
  • cryo-admincryo-admin Posts: 4,538
    Hi Nichole -

    I'm sorry the process has not gone as quickly as you had hoped. I understand how disappointing and frustrating it can be.

    I encourage you to read some of the other posts on this board. I think you will find most people assume it is much easier to get pregnant than it actually is. On average, you only have about a 15-20% chance of pregnancy per cycle - regardless of traditional conception or insemination. These odds only go down when you add in an individual's reproductive health, age, etc.

    We offer close to 300 donors. Because we limit vial production per donor and must quarantine all specimens for a minimum of 6 months before releasing them for sale, donors can quickly become unavailable. This is why we stress the importance of purchasing enough vials to meet your personal family goal while they are there. We also offer free storage and the ability to sell back any unused vials to make it as easy as possible.

    Donors that appear in search results that are currently unavailable still have vials waiting to clear quarantine. You can always contact our Client Services Team to find out when the next release is anticipated and be added to a notification list.

    Talk to your physician about specimen quality. All sperm banks are not equal. Our processing and standards are far and away higher than any other bank.

    Google reviews on the larger sperm banks and see what your peers have to say about their experiences with CCB versus the other banks. I think you will be very happy with your decision to allow us to help you start your family.

    Finally, we greatly appreciate of customers and take great pride in our service. We do everything we can to provide the best personalized service possible. True, we may have an occasional website issues. I apologize for the inconvenience, but please understand the last thing we want to do is make it difficult for our customers to place an order. We take these problems very seriously and address any issue immediately.

    We are open from 6a-6p PST Monday-Friday (and 8:30-12:30 Saturday). If you have an online ordering issue at night, we can always help you over the phone the next morning and still get your order shipped the same day if necessary.

    Best of luck,

    Scott
    CCB
  • MGALBNMGALBN Posts: 325
    What kind of free storage? I thought it was only free for 30 days then you had to start paying fees? Is that still correct?
  • cryo-admincryo-admin Posts: 4,538
    Our Family Today plan offers 1 year of free storage with the purchase of 5 or more vials. Our Family Tomorrow plan offers 3 years of free storage with the purchase of 10 vials.

    Incidentally, the other big difference between us and Midwest Cryobank is we are still in business.

    Good luck,

    Scott
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