SPERM BANK COMPARISON

See how top sperm banks for lesbian couples stack up.

It’s a bit awkward to shop for sperm, but once you start the process, the options can be overwhelming, time consuming, and a little confusing. Sorting through sperm bank sites to figure out what they offer, and at what cost, and how they compare to others can keep you up at night. So we’ve saved you some time. Here are the offerings of five top sperm banks, so you can compare in one place.

CALIFORNIA CRYOBANK

URL: http://www.cryobank.com/
How many donors available: 285
Sperm Cost (per vial) ICI/IUI:
Anonymous Donors:
Premium ICI $465.00
Premium IUI $585.00
A.R.T.* ICI $335.00
A.R.T.* IUI $415.00
Open Donors:
Premium ICI $565.00
Premium IUI $685.00
A.R.T.* ICI $435.00
A.R.T.* IUI $515.00
Donor Info/Cost:
Extended Donor Profile $20.00
Express Yourself $20.00
Facial Features Report $20.00
Donor Conversation $20.00
Keirsey Report $20.00
Handwriting Analysis $20.00
Childhood Photo(s) $25.00
Limit on Individual Donor Sperm: Limit varies by individual donor depending on pregnancies reported and vials shipped. Would not disclose limit, but they do offer a sibling registry.

FAIRFAX

URL: http://www.fairfaxcryobank.com/
How many donors available: 203
Sperm Cost (per vial) ICI/IUI:
Fairfax Doctorate ICI $455.00
IUI $565.00
IVF $305.00
Fairfax ICI $415.00
IUI $520.00
IVF $300.00
Donor Info Cost:
Medical Profile (phone order) $18.00
Personal Profile (from website) $20.00
Personal Profile (phone order) $24.00
Audio Interview (website or phone order) $30.00
Audio Interview (phone order) $34.00
Childhood Photo (from website) $16.00 Childhood Photo (phone order) $19.00
Silhouette (from website) $21.00 Silhouette (phone order) $23.00
Lifetime Photo Series -Mail only $75.00
Adult/Childhood Photo Set – Mail only $45.00
Childhood Photo/Silhouette set (from website) $32.00
Childhood Photo/Silhouette set (phone order) $36.00
Personality Testing Keirsey Donor Report: A Classic Temperament Report on an individual donor $19.00
Unique Proposition: Doctorate program – donors who are enrolled in law or medical school
Limit on Individual Donor Sperm: Unable to determine from website.

PACIFIC REPRODUCTIVE SERVICES

URL: https://pacrepro.com/index.php
How many donors available: 121
Sperm Cost (per vial) ICI/IUI:
Willing to Be Known Donor (when child is 18 years of age)
1.0cc ICI Standard Vial $495.00
0.5cc IUI Prepared Vial $595.00
ART ICI Vial * 375.00
Anonymous Donor
1.0cc ICI Standard Vial $395.00
0.5cc IUI Prepared Vial $495.00
ART ICI Vial * $275.00
Donor Info/Cost:
Long donor profiles. $17 each.
Donor baby/child photos.. $35 each.
Donor audio interviews. $30 each.
Photomatching service. $85 fee. This service is not available online.
Limit on Individual Donor Sperm: Unable to determine from website.
Unique proposition: Lesbian-owned sperm bank, largest number of such “willing to be known” donors. Now providing full-face donor video interviews and/or current photos of a broad range of donors.

RAINBOW FLAG HEALTH SERVICES

URL: http://www.gayspermbank.com/index.html
How many donors available: 11
Sperm Cost (per vial) 
ICI: $250
IUI: $475
Donor Info/Cost: $5.00 for Detailed Personal information
Unique Proposition:
The only sperm bank in North America to actively recruit Gay and Bisexual sperm donors. Whether Gay, Bisexual or Heterosexual, donors wish to have children in their lives but do not wish to raise children. (Or, some men who already have children do not wish to raise more children.)
The only sperm bank to tell the mother who the donor is when the child is three months old.
Limit on Individual Donor Sperm: Limit donors to have children by only 4-6 different women.

SPERM BANK OF CALIFORNIA

URL: http://thespermbankofca.org/
How many donors available: 94
Sperm Cost (per vial) ICI/IUI:
Required 1st Time Recipient Registration Fee $10
Unwashed Vial of Anonymous Donor Sperm $390 1cc
Washed IUI-Ready Vial of Anonymous Donor Sperm $460 .5cc
Unwashed Vial of Identity-Release® Donor Sperm $490 1cc
Washed IUI-ready vial of Identity-Release® Donor Sperm $560 .5cc
Purchase 6 vials or more at one time and receive an instant 5% discount.
Donor Info/Cost:
Free donor profiles that summarize each donor’s medical and family history, and include his short personal narrative. Free staff impressions of donors.
Long Charts containing physical characteristics, health habits, personal interests, and educational background for the donor and members of his immediate biological family. $15.00
Donor Baby Photos (some donors) $35.00
Limit on Individual Donor Sperm: Ten families worldwide for each donor
Unique Proposition: The only non-profit sperm bank in the United States, has one of lowest family/pregnancy limits on sperm compared to other banks.

XYTEX

URL: http://www.xytex.com/
How many donors available: 163
Sperm Cost (per vial) ICI/IUI:
Xytex Unwashed units, per unit $430.00
Xytex Unwashed ID Disclosure units, per unit $540.00
Xytex Prewashed units, per unit $530.00
Xytex Prewashed ID Disclosure units, per unit $640.00
Xytex ART units, per unit $315.00
Xytex ART ID Disclosure units, per unit $415.00
Xytex Select Unwashed units, per unit $265.00
Xytex Select Washed units, per unit $365.00
Donor Info/Cost:
Enhanced Donor Profile includes PhotoFile (if available), BabyFile(if available), donor essay, and social information
$65.00
Three-Month Unlimited Internet Access Includes Enhanced Profiles and Photographs
$165.00
Three-Month Ultra Unlimited Internet Access Includes Enhanced Profiles and Photographs plus access to all available expanded PhotoSpans and Donor Audio Interviews
$195.00
PhotoSpan
$100.00
Donor Audio Interview
$35.00
Limit on Individual Donor Sperm: “Any donor with 35 family units should be retired…[With the retirement, any] remaining inventory can be sold until the donor reaches 40 family units�?
Unique Proposition: Enhanced definition donor images.

Have you had an experience with one of these sperm banks? Leave a comment below and share your experience with other prospective lesbian parents.