Media Requests

cryoadmin

Hi Everyone -

As I'm sure you have all heard, the CCB Donor Look-a-Likes have been reported on by media all over the country since it launched. It is currently running on CNN.com:

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/07/sperm.bank.celebrities/index.html.

We have also gotten multiple requests to interview clients that have used the service during their donor selection process. If anyone out there is interested in being interviewed on television about recently choosing their donor, please let me know at sbrown@cryobank.com.

I realize this whole process is very personal. We rarely solicit our clients for media coverage, but there has been such a strong response to the program that we have decided to ask for your help on this one.

Thank you,

Scott
CCB

Natalie1605

I read this CNN report and it really annoys me. The sources they quote make it sound like we are trying to engineer children to look like celebrities. They are obviously missing the very emotional aspect associated with having to use a donor in the first place due to fertility issues. I felt very drawn to a particular donor due to many similarities as my husband prior to seeing any photos. When I saw the donor look a like photos it showed me when compared to other donors look a likes that he definitely bears the most resemblance to my husband's features. It only reaffirmed our decision to choose this donor...we did not make our decision based on it. These bioethicists obviously don't have a clue what is really going on when couples make the decision to use a donor.

cryo-admin

Hi Natalie -

I agree. Our intention with the donor look-a-likes had nothing to do with helping people have "celebrity" babies. All we are trying to do is make the selection process as easy as possible.

Unfortunately, some media will always tend to spin any story towards the sensationalized version rather than the true and emotional one. Using a sperm donor has nothing to do with bioethics. It is simply about love and family. That is why we are looking for real clients to tell their stories. The more the world hears about the real families, the less inclined the media will be to try and make the "sperm donor" story into something it is not.

Sorry if that was too preachy, but quotes like the one you mentioned bother me too. Thanks for the soapbox.

Scott
CCB

Arkmom

The whole celebrity look-a-like thing rubs me the wrong way. I picked my donor based upon the information I had, including his baby picture, long before receiving the rather improbable information that he "looks like" Russell Crow. I beleive him to be an attractive man, but boarderline middle-aged English professors do not look like movie starts. I think this whole thing was meant to stir up exactly the kind of publicity that it has. If not, BCC would not be shilling for these media outlets to get interviews with parents. This is a tacky way to advertise.

greta

I too think CNN spun the story for publicity and missed the point. Natalie, I agree that the author seems to have no idea what it's like to actually have to choose a donor in order to start their family. If their point is that a recipient shouldn't pay attention to the donor's look at all, then I think that's wildly unfair and quite a double-standard.

I doubt many people think if they pick, for example, the Brad Pitt matching donor, the baby is going to come out with a strong resemblance to Brad Pitt. The celeb matches are likely just a way to visually describe certain features of the donor (e.g. his coloring, his forhead, his jaw line) in a way that a written description couldn't. By using a public figure example it just provides a common point of reference (rather than saying, he bears a resemblance to Joe Smith, who not everyone would be able to picture). It has nothing to do with trying to create a celeb look-alike baby. Anyway, CCB, I think it's a new great feature.

cryo-admin

Hi Greta and Arkmom -

Thank you. I think you hit the nail on the head.

As for "shilling" for the media, I would much rather present an accurate version of what we are doing and how it effects real people than let the media offer the inaccurate version of the story most are telling.

I understand Arkmom's point, but I can promise you "Russell Crowe" was not thrown around lightly. The reason we supply the links to the celeb photos is that if you take many celebrities out of the context of the characters they play and simply look at their features, coloring, etc., they become much less "larger than life" and suddenly are not so "People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive". We also provide more than one look-a-like to make sure we are not giving the impression that a donor is a dead-ringer for anyone.

Thank you both for your input. We greatly appreciate the feedback.

Regards,

Scott
CCB

Alysia

I really enjoy the donor-look-alike feature. We used the donor matching consultation, and while I trust everyone who assists in matching my husband's picture with a donor did a good job, it is good to see that they chose look-alikes who do resemble him too, in one way or another. It gives a sense of security for us knowing the donor is a close match, since we have decided not to tell our families that we are using a donor.

Thanks, CCB, for this feature!

cryo-admin

Thank you, Alysia. I am really glad you found it helpful.

Good luck!

Scott

cryo-admin

We are still looking for a client interested in going on Good Morning America to talk about their experience selecting a donor and using the new Look-a-Likes feature.

If you are interested, please email me directly at sbrown@cryoabnk.com.


Thanks,

Scott
CCB