When ordering donor sperm from Cryos, you may be met by the term Quota Reservation or “QR” in short. This is sometimes also referred to as a “pregnancy slot”. The purpose of the Quota Reservation system is to ensure that the national pregnancy quota, which limits the number of children a particular donor may be used for in a certain country, is not exceeded. In some countries, a Quota Reservation is mandatory when having fertility treatment with donor sperm. Learn more below.
What is a Quota Reservation?
A Quota Reservation is a way of ensuring that the limit of pregnancies achieved by the same donor is not exceeded. In countries operating with national quotas, a limited number of Quota Reservations are available per donor. When you hold a Quota Reservation, you are ensured a pregnancy slot within the national limit.
In some countries you need to purchase a quota per family, whilst other countries require you to purchase a quota for each child or per woman. Please contact Cryos for more information about the quota requirements in your treatment country.
NB: Having a Quota Reservation is not a guarantee that donor sperm from your selected donor will be available in the future. That is why we recommend that you also consider making a reservation of donor sperm for later use if you want to be able to use the same donor for future siblings.
How do I know if I need a Quota Reservation?
If a Quota Reservation is mandatory in your treatment country, it will automatically be added to your basket, when you place an order of sperm straws from a Cryos donor. The Quota Reservation will then appear on your order summary during checkout. If a Quota Reservation is not mandatory in your treatment country, you cannot purchase a Quota Reservation.
Price and use of Quota Reservations
We request a fee when you purchase a Quota Reservation, but it is fully refundable within the first three years. This is to incentivize our customers to terminate the Quota Reservation if it is no longer needed and thereby let other families use sperm donations from this donor instead.
The Quota Reservation price depends on your country and the ID Release status of the donor. You can see examples of the cost of sperm from a donor here.
Use your Quota Reservation to register your pregnancy
Hopefully your fertility treatment will be successful and result in a pregnancy. In this case, it is important that you register your pregnancy with Cryos online. When you do this, your Quota Reservation will become permanent, and your pregnancy will count as one of the permitted pregnancies within the national limit for this donor.
Termination and refund of Quota Reservations
If you do not become pregnant and decide to try with another sperm donor instead, you will no longer need your Quota Reservation for the first donor. In this case you can terminate your Quota Reservation.
Quota Reservations that are terminated within a period of 3 years from the date of purchase can be fully refunded if you did not obtain a pregnancy with the donor and have no more straws or embryos left on storage for future treatments. If you do not register a pregnancy or terminate your Quota Reservation within this three-year period, the Quota Reservation will remain yours, but you will no longer be able to get a refund.
When the refund expiration date approaches, we will notify you by email to remind you to either terminate your Quota Reservation if you no longer need it or to register a pregnancy, if you have achieved a pregnancy with the donor but forgot to let Cryos know.
You can see your purchased Quota Reservations and the refund expiration date by logging in to your Cryos account and visit the section Quotas. From there, you can also terminate a Quota Reservation and request a refund or purchase a new Quota Reservation if needed.
Are you ready to proceed with your donor sperm order?
When you are ready to order donor sperm, we recommend following this guide on how to order donor sperm. If you did not yet choose a sperm donor, you can also go to our sperm donor search and find the right sperm donor for you. Remember that Cryos is here to guide you every step of the way. Contact us for personal guidance.
Frequently asked questions about Quota Reservations
What is a pregnancy quota?
Many countries have a maximum pregnancy quota per sperm donor, which limits the number of pregnancies or families a particular donor may be used for in a certain country. This is called a pregnancy quota.
Why do you add a Quota Reservation to my order?
In some countries, a Quota Reservation is mandatory when having fertility treatment with donor sperm. If this is the case in your treatment country, we will automatically add a Quota Reservation to your order.
How can I purchase a Quota Reservation?
If a Quota Reservation is required in your treatment country, we will automatically add this to your order when adding sperm straws to your basket. If you need more than one Quota Reservation, e.g. if your country requires a Quota Reservation per child, you can purchase this separately by logging in to your Cryos account and visiting the section Quotas.
No Quota Reservations available for my favourite donor - what can I do?
For each treatment country, there is a limited number of Quota Reservations available for a donor. If all Quota Reservations for your favourite donor have been purchased by other women or families, it is not possible for you to buy donor sperm from this particular donor for fertility treatment in your chosen treatment country. You can either choose to continue your donor search or consider having treatment in another country where Quota Reservations are available or where a Quota Reservation is not required.