What is a Sperm Bank?

A sperm bank is a medical facility that receives and stores donor sperm for use in third-party forms of reproduction, such as artificial insemination. A sperm bank, sometimes called a cryobank, is just one option for a woman who wants to get pregnant and have a child when she might not be able to otherwise. Typically, the donor and the donor sperm undergo medical and genetic testing prior to the sperm being used.

When a man’s sperm carries genetic diseases or when he is infertile, a couple might be able to utilize a sperm bank's donor sperm to conceive a child. Donor sperm also could be used when a woman does not have a male partner and would like to start a family on her own or with a same-sex partner, or donor sperm could be used for surrogate arrangements. A sperm bank can store a man's sperm so that it can be used in the future, which is especially important to some men in potentially life-threatening situations or who will be undergoing medical treatments that might cause the testes to be damaged. Medically, a pregnancy that results from using a sperm bank is the same as a pregnancy that results from sexual intercourse.

Donor sperm is often subject to genetic testing, and the donor typically must provide medical records before his sperm can be used. A sperm bank keeps records of all donors. Some of these records are private, and others are available to people who are looking for sperm. Information on the donor, such as height, weight, race, eye color and health, can be used by a woman to help her choose the donor sperm.

When a woman would like to have multiple children, she might want to use the same donor sperm so that her children will have the same biological father. A sperm bank often can provide information on the amount of sperm available from any particular donor. When a man goes through the process of becoming a sperm donor, he relinquishes all parental rights to any offspring that might be conceived with his sperm. He is nothing more than a biological father.

When a man donates his sperm to a sperm bank, it is stored in small straws or vials and is cryogenically preserved, which means that the sperm is frozen. When ready, the donor sperm can be given to the recipient for her own artificial insemination using a cervical cap conception device or a needle-less syringe. Another option is that a sperm bank can provide the sperm to a medical practitioner to perform the insemination.