How do I know that the sperm donors are healthy?
How can I know that the sperm donors are healthy? This is understandably one of the questions that our clients ask us most frequently. In this blog post, you can read how you know that the sperm donors from Cryos are healthy and safe to use for fertility treatment.
Only 5-10 % can become a sperm donor
Some people think that everyone can walk in from the street and become a sperm donor. However, this is far from the truth. In fact, only 5-10 % of the men who apply to become a sperm donor at Cryos get approved. This is due to the fact that we have a lot of requirements that the donors have to meet to comply with our strict donor screening program.
How we screen the donors
Initially, Cryos’ medical staff selects the donors based on age, risk behaviour and sperm quality. If the potential donors meet these preliminary requirements, they undergo a comprehensive physical and mental examination at Cryos.
The donor applicants must answer questions about their family’s health history. We carefully review the donors' answers, and afterwards, our medical staff approves or rejects the donors.
Later, we test the donor applicants for a range of infectious diseases. Some of the diseases that we test for are HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HTLV. We also test the donors for an extensive list of hereditary diseases.
At Cryos, we have experts within the field of genetics. Therefore we have a thorough understanding of genetic conditions and genetic inheritance.
Our current testing covers up to 46 hereditary diseases. If we detect a hereditary disease, we reject the donor candidate.
We test the sperm donors regularly
If the donor applicant passes the extensive sperm donor screening program, he is approved as a Cryos donor. Hereafter, his donations will be ready for purchase in the Sperm Donor Search. Nevertheless, testing does not stop here. In order to make sure that our donors continue to be healthy during the period of their donations, we test them for infectious diseases on an ongoing basis.
You can access a copy of the donor’s test report
In the Sperm Donor Search, you can find all available donors’ test reports. The report is called a 'Summary of Records'. It contains a list of all the donors' test results. The Summary of Records is always attached to your order confirmation and enclosed in the package when you buy sperm from Cryos.
Despite our thorough donor screening program, the risk of having a child with a medical condition can never be completely eliminated. All people have medical conditions that we are not aware of. Therefore, it is close to impossible to screen donors for all medical conditions.
At Cryos, we continuously strive to improve our donor screening to make sure that we have the healthiest donors possible. You can always be sure that our donors have undergone comprehensive physical examination, genetic and infectious disease testing and psychological evaluation before becoming a donor. Therefore, you can safely use donor sperm from Cryos for your fertility treatment.
Maybe you are also interested in reading this blog post about how to choose your sperm donor.