Thank you so much for spelling this out for me. I have a lot to think about, but now I can make a more informed decision.
Sperm count high enough?
August 22, 2007
I hope to get pregnant sometime next year using artificial insemination. I have a good friend who is willing to be the donor, and I would love for him to be my children's biological father. He went in for a semen analysis, but I'm not sure what to make of the results.
The fresh test was excellent -- sperm count and motility were both very high. However, I plan to have him make several donations that can be stored frozen until I'm ready to be inseminated. The frozen thaw yielded a sperm count of 12 million with 17% motility.
At this particular sperm bank, the minimum acceptable frozen thaw for regular donors is 20 million with 20% motility. However, I was informed that they only use donors with "well above average" frozen thaw test results. Since my friend is a directed donor, those rules do not apply.
Am I wasting my money if I store my friend's sperm? Or is there still a good chance I could get pregnant with those results? Thanks in advance for your advice.
The fresh test was excellent -- sperm count and motility were both very high. However, I plan to have him make several donations that can be stored frozen until I'm ready to be inseminated. The frozen thaw yielded a sperm count of 12 million with 17% motility.
At this particular sperm bank, the minimum acceptable frozen thaw for regular donors is 20 million with 20% motility. However, I was informed that they only use donors with "well above average" frozen thaw test results. Since my friend is a directed donor, those rules do not apply.
Am I wasting my money if I store my friend's sperm? Or is there still a good chance I could get pregnant with those results? Thanks in advance for your advice.
August 23, 2007
Donor banks are usually very strict with their accepting criteria, and rightfully so, many are willing to pay top dollar for "good" anonymous sperm. However, when one has a directed donor like you, you are more than aware of you're getting, and this can be the trade off, along with as you should get, legal documentation protecting all parties rights. Not only that, there are stricter FDA STD testing required for directed donors...
If you're Ok with this, then we're dealing with sperm that thaws suboptimally. Now, if you were doing IVF with ICSI, then this wouldn't be a problem. However, with these values, you may still get pregnant, but the rate is significantly lower with an IUI. It is best to think about all these issues and then decide which choice will ultimately be best for you