Questions & Answers (Clinics) ...
- Purchase and reservation process - step by step ...
- As long as you have not finished item 9, the order has not been completed. You can therefore do excersise as much as you want without consequences.
- Please observe that orders not proceeded according to item 9 will be deleted after 20 minuttes.
Follow these steps:
1. Click the menu or the bottom Donor Search. You can now browse through the donor list. You can search for specific characteristics or qualities. You can sort the donors by clicking the top bar in each column - for instance Race or Hair colour.
2. Donors with Extended Profile: click the icon in order to see the extended profile, staff impression and baby-photos of the donor. In order to open these files (pdf) you need Adope Acrobat Reader.
3. If you wish to se which qualities (IUI/ICI or MOT) we have in stock from a donor - and the prices, you can click the line for the specific donor (mouse over - line turn into grey).
4. Write the wanted quantity of units (straws) on each line in the squares if Delivery or in the square if Reservation. Click the basked. The total sum of the order is shown in the square above in the screen.
5. Check the details in your order. You can cancel any line in case of mistakes and you can go back by using the blue/white arrows. please don't use the arrows in the top left side of the screen.
6. Choose a shipping method - and if Reservation: a time period. Click the arrow to the right in order to go to next page.
7. Indicate a delivery address if different from the clinic address.
8. Indicate shipping date. Please observe that this is not the delivery date! Delivery can take one or more days.
9. Click the square "I accept Terms of Agreement" (mandatory in order to continue). Click the buttom [Submit order].
When the order has been sent to us a confirmation of the receipt will be sent by email. Within 2 working days we will send you an order confirmation.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us. Either by email, phone, letter or fax.
- Which information about the donor is available?
We have two types of donors: Basic and Extende profile.
In both groups are Anonymous and Non-anonymous donors.
Donors with Extended profile:
Registered by a fictitious name (Eric, Bob, Bond, Cliff, etc.).
Extended Profiles with comprehensive information about donors background, education, family relations, a hand written message, etc.
Normally there is a Staff impression - i.e. a short, subjective description from our staff.
There are often photos from the donor' childhood.
We do not make any control of the information given in the Extended profiles except those given in Basic profile. These information are published as we receive them from the donor.
Donors with Basic profile:
Registrered with a number (3456, 8756, 11250, etc.).
Only registered by few characteristics (race, ethnicity, eye color, hair colour, heigh, weight, blood type and in most cases education/occupation). No staff impression and no photos. We do not make any control of the education/occupation.
Whether to choose a donor with Basic or Extended profile is a very difficult decision.
If many data about the donor is important to you, you should choose a donor with Extended profile. Single women and lesbians who often have an explicit needs to keep information for the children, may have a preference for Extended profile donors. However, before you choose please make sure that the clinic accepts treatment with Extended profile donors. Some clinics only treat with Basic profile donors.
If you want to know as little as possible about the donor, you should choose a Basic profile donor. In many cases heterosexual couples prefer a Basic profile donor in order to protect their own interests as a family.
Anonymous donors:
Anonymous donor's identity is kept secret forever.
Non-anonymous donors:
Non-anonymous donor's identity can be disclosed to offspring when they reach 18 years of age and if they apply for it.
Whether to choose an Anonymous or a Non-anonymous donor is also a difficult decision?
In some countries it is illegal to use non-anonymous donors and in other countries it is illegal to use anonymous donors. The issue has been discussed international for many decades and there is no single solution. Only the parents can choose what they think is best for them. It seems that singles and lesbian couples may prefer Non-anonymous donors and heterosexual couples seems to prefer Anonymous donors. Both for the same reason as they select Basic and Extended profile donors. But it is not always so. Singles may for instance prefer an Anonymous donor because they plan to find a spouse later who can then easier be a father and adopt the child. Heterosexual couples sometimes prefer a Non-anonymous donor because they plan to tell the child about its origin.
If you live in a country where you cannot be treated with the type of donor you prefer, you must find a fertility clinic in another country. Use search engine as Google, Yahoo, etc. or you can try World In Vitro Fertilisaton Unit.
Alternatively you can try to get a Delivery Authorisation - maybe even from authorised persons/clinics outside your country?
- How much sperm should I order?
- ICI-unwashed:
For vaginal/cervical insemination:
We recommend to use 2 x MOT20 straws or higher qualities per treatment.
If ICI-unwashed semen for a specific donor is sold out, IUI-ready can be used for vaginal insemination, even this is a waste of quality. Because of the concentration at least 2 x IUI-MOT20 straws or higher quality should be used per insemination.
For Interuterine Insemination:
ICI-unwashed sperm may not be used for intra-uterine insemination without being preparated first.
If the sperm is prepared by swim-up method, we recommend to use 2 x MOT20 straws or higher qualities per treatment.
If the sperm is prepared by gradient-centrifugation method any ICI-unwashed qualities can be used because the concentration is a result of concentration/dilution after the preparation. After preparation there should be a minimum of 2 million motile spermatozoa per ml. for IUI.
We recommend to use for instance 4-8 x MOT5, 2-4 x MOT10 or 1-2 x MOT20 straws (or higher) per treatment.
- IUI-ready:
For interuterine insemination.
We recommend to use 1-2 x IUI-MOT5 straws or 1 x IUI-MOT10 straw per treatment. IUI-MOT20 or higher quality can be used, but this this is in principle to "take a musket to kill a butterfly".
- Do you deliver donor semen to UK?
Yes. However, only Non-anonymous donors are allowed in UK and not all our Non-anonymous donors have signed the mandatory HFEA-forms for UK. Please make a search for UK donors in Standard (read about Standard on this page).
If you do not find a matching donor on this list we must refer you to search treatment abroad. For instance in Ireland, The Channel Islands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, etc. where we can deliver Anonymous as well as Non-anonymous donor semen without problems.
To find a fertility clinic you should search the internet with Google, Yahoo, etc. or you can try World In Vitro Fertilisaton Unit.
If you need help please contact us.
- Do you have open ID donors?
Yes, we have open ID donors. Sometimes they are called "ID disclosure" donors and sometimes "known" donors. We call them "Non-anonymous" donors.
We started operating with Non-anonymous donors in October 2006 after a special permission from the Danish authorities. In Denmark doctors are not allowed to treat patients with Non-anonymous donors, but clinics which are run by midwifes are not covered by this law so they can. We can also export the semen from Non-anonymous donors.
The Non-anonymous donors have accepted that when the children turn 18 they can gain access to the donor's identity. You can search the Non-anonymous donors here ...
- What is a Standard?
Cryos Deliver donor semen to many countries and as different countries has different approval procedures for donors and for donor semen Cryos operate with different Standards for release. I.e. that donors can be selected and tested according to one or several of these Standards.
Read more about Standard here ...
Read more about Screening here here ...
- What does MOT mean?
MOT means motility (ability to move or swim) and 20 means 20 million pr. ml. The term states that there are a minimum of 20 million motile spermatozoa pr. ml in the sample after thawing according to the WHO-standard (grade a and b).
We operate with following qualities:
- ICI-MOT5, ICI-MOT10, ICI-MOT20, ICI-MOT30, ICI-MOT40 and ICI-MOT50+ (ICI = Intra Cervical Insemination or unwashed semen).
- IUI-MOT5, IUI-MOT10, IUI-MOT20, IUI-MOT30, IUI-MOT40 and IUI-MOT50+ (IUI = Intra Uterine Insemination or washed/purified semen).
- Do you deliver ICI-unwashed or IUI-ready?
We deliver both ICI-unwashed and IUI-ready. Some call it raw semen or prepared semen or just washed or unwashed. IUI means "Intra Uterine Insemination" or "insemination directly in the uterus cavity". ICI means "insemination in the cervical channel" but the expression is not totally correct, but it has gained acceptance as such. The sperm is just raw or unwashed.
Raw semen (or unwashed) can only be used for vaginal or cervical insemination as it contain prostaglandins and bacteria which may not be inseminated into the uterus. IUI-ready semen has been treated by a so-called gradient centrifugation method where prostaglandins and bacteria have been removed from the plasma. IUI-ready semen can be inseminated directly into the uterus or used for IVF.
Raw semen can also be used for IUI or IVF but not until aftre thawing and following a preparation - either by use of swim-up (not recommended for frozen-thawed samles) or by gradient centrifugation.
We deliver both raw semen and IUI-ready in different qualities from MOT5 to MOT50+ (ICI) and MOT5 to MOT20+ (IUI).
- What is a straw?
Semen is delivered in clear 0.4 or 0.5 ml CBS or IMV 0.5 ml straws. Each straw is marked with the donor number or fictitious name and the ejaculate number (for example "7890-12" or "CLIFF-25").
CBS® (CryoBioSystem) High Secutity Straws are specifically manufactured for safe cryo storage of biological products in liquid nitrogen. Applications include storage of serum, plasma, buffy-coat and other blood fractions, cell suspension, bacterial or viral strains, gametes and embryos. Directly after filling, both extremities of the CBS™ High Security straw are thermally sealed with one of our specific machines. This makes the straw absolutely leakproof, preventing contamination of the sample and its environment.
Manufactured from biocompatible materials, they are used in medically assisted procreation techniques and particularly for sperm preservation. The CBS™ straw is a clear, flexible tube made of ionomeric resin.
Length: 133 mm (130 mm after sealing).
Sterilized by irradiation.
The straw is 510 (k) U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared and CE-marked as a medical device for storage of human gametes and embryos.
See also RBM Online - Vol 9. No 2. 2004 134-151. Article 1256. The article has an in depth comparison of vials and CBS straws.
- What is the American model?
In the US, it has for many years been the patients who select the sperm bank and the donor whereas in Europe and the rest of the world it has been the clinic or the doctor. As the demand for more donor information has increased from patients outside the U.S., Cryos has introduced the so called American Model. The demand for more information has increased as cuts in public support for fertility treatment has transferred the patients to private fertility clinics. Once the customers are in the private sector the demand for more information increases. Both heterosexual and lesbian couples are generally interested in more information about the donors but the demand comes mainly from a growing number of single women who do not need to match the donor with their husband/partner. Single women and lesbians want to ensure that there is as much information as possible available to the child because there is no father figure. Generally, children of lesbians and single women have an increased interest in knowing where they come from. Knowing where the child comes from has not been as important to heterosexual families as most do not tell the child that they were conceived with donor semen. With the Internet it has become easy for everybody to find the American sperm banks and the extended information about the donors. Consequently many patients have chosen to obtain sperm from U.S. sperm banks. In order to assist our customers Cryos International - Denmark has decided to give the customers the same options. The American model includes direct online access to donor lists, extended donor profiles, baby photos, audio and video presentation of the donors (not available yet), staff impression of the donors, expanded testing and screening, etc. You cannot say that the American model is wrong/ right or ethical/unethical. Some might argue that the child is made a "product” and that patients can go "shopping" for "designer babies". But from a human point of view you can also argue that is it important to let the patient make the selection in respect of the individuals need in a Darwinistic line of thinking. In real life a complex selection also takes place when especially women choose a partner for reproduction. Why should these needs not be met? Why should the patients only choose their donor on the basis of race, eye colour, hair colour, height, and weight? One can argue that this particular model is paternalistic. On the other hand, Denmark (and the rest of the world except the U.S.) had a good system where the doctor/clinic selected the donor based on basic characteristics. A system which has worked without problems for at least 50 years as it has been easy to match the donor with the man on the basis of these characteristics. Perhaps most male patients are fine with this model as the less they know about the donor, the greater is their integrity as a father secured. A relationship which is very important for the child.It is therefore important that both models exist so Cryos has chosen to keep the old model along with the American model. Donors from the old model are called Basic and they have a donor number e.g. 9876. Donors according to the "American model" are called Extended and they have a fictitious names e.g. Niels, Arve, Lars, etc. Both Basic and Extended donors can be Anonymous or Non-anonymous.
- How many DI-treatment cycles are expected per pregnancy?
This varies greatly from patient to patient and also depends on the semen preparation technique, the insemination technique, hormone stimulation, timing etc. The average number of cycles is around five to six per pregnancy. Our clients report an average pregnancy rate (PR) of about 15 - 40% per cycle.
- What characteristics are important when finding a donor?
The goal is to match, as far as the circumstances permit, the genetic characteristics of the social father. Traits considered might be race, complexion, colour of eyes, colour of hair, height and weight.
People have two genes for eye colour: Blue and brown, and the gene for brown is the dominant gene. Green and grey colours are caused by genetic mixing and belong to the blue group.
Hair colour/type is genetically more complicated. Our hair colour categories are: Blond, brown, dark brown, black and red.
There might be indications for choosing a specific blood type.
- What is the expected pregnancy rate (PR) using your your donor semen?
The accumulative pregnancy rate (PR) should be about 10-40% after the first cycle treatment, about 15-60% after the second cycle treatment etc. with a total of about 50-70% after six cycle treatments and about 60-80% after 12 cycle treatments. But the PR differs very much from clinic to clinic and is very much influenced by the selection of patients (especially age) and treatment methods. A Danish University clinic reported an average PR of 22.3% for 1131 cycles (developing from 12.9% in 1990 to 34.6% in 1998).
- What is CMV status?
CMV stands for Cytomegalovirus. CMV is a very common virus and most adult people have had it at some time during their life. In the USA and the United Kingdom it is recommended only to use IgG-positive donors to IgG-positive recipients and if the patient is IgG negative only IgG negative donors should be used. In countries outside the US and UK it is not standard to test for CMV but as Cryos delivers donor semen to these countries, some of our donors are tested for CMV.
Our donors are either CMV negative or positive. This means that the donor is negative or positive for CMV IgG-antibodies. If the donor is negative he has never had the infection. If the donor is positive it means that he has antibodies in his blood and not the active infectious virus. If the donor has an active infectious virus he has IgM-antibodies in the blood and semen and any donated semen is destroyed and the donor is not allowed to donate until he has recovered i.e. when he is IgM-negative. Once a donor has been IgM-positive he will always be IgG-positive.
The reason that some countries require the CMV test is that an active infection by the mother can affect the fetus in rare cases and result in malformation of the child. It is a controversial issue whether to test for CMV or not.
The disadvantage of testing is that it is a large cost compared to the benefit. It is not logical to test for exactly this virus when other similar viruses are not required. It is also a problem that many patients/physician simply choose a CMV negative donor for convenient reasons - this has resulted in the fact that sperm banks are running out of CMV negative donors and that they have been forced to increase the price for these donors. The selection of donors is also reduced significantly if the CMV status is taken into consideration. If the recipient wants to be sure they should be tested. If she is CMV positive she can always safely choose a similar positive donor. Furthermore, as almost all treatments today are carried out with sperm that has been through a purification process all virus will almost 100% sure be removed from the semen before insemination.
Outside the USA and UK there are no regulation regarding test for CMV. We therefore recommend that you only select the donor according to CMV status if the treatment has to be performed in USA or UK.
- What is an IMV straw?
IMV straws were the standard straws before CBS high security straws were developed in late 1990.
IMV straws were originally developed for the animal reproductive industri but were also used for freezing of human sperm and eggs for about 50 years. The standard straw used at Cryos International had a clear or yellow colour 0.5 ml.
In 2000 Cryos International switched to the special manufactured 0.4 ml CBS high security straws as standard. In 2008 the standard was changed to 0.5 ml CBS high security straws.
The stock of IMV straws will decrease after year 2000, but it will take decades before the last IMV straws is gone.
For further information see IMV Technologies.
- How many children per donor?
It is Cryos International's policy to follow any national limitation or national quotas*.
Pregnancy quotas are made in order to limit the risk of inbreeding. However, due to strict regulation in many countries low supply of donor semen is a consequence, which lead many patients to cross boarders (see "fertility tourism" under Ethical questions below) in order to receive treatment. In order to track these patients and pregnancies Cryos operate with a wordwide quota system**
You can always check if a donor has reached the national or the worldwide quota under Donor Search when you click on a donor - Donor Details (Check pregnancy quota ?)
*) The "national quota" is the maximum number of pregnancies per donor based on any kind of regulation in the form of laws, circular letters, or collective agreements from organizations in the country in question (if such limitations are known to Cryos). Siblings and abortions are not included.
**) "Cryos' “worldwide quota" is a general limit of 1 pregnancy per 200,000 citizens in the patient's country. Siblings and abortions are not included. This quota only takes into consideration the nationality of the patient not the country in which the patient is treated.
Example:
If a Finnish woman is treated in Finland, her pregnancy will count in the national quota which is 5 pregnancies (abortions and siblings not included) per donor. Her pregnancy will also count in the worldwide quota. If she is treated in the UK her pregnancy will neither have an influence on the Finnish nor the UK national quotas. However, it will influence the worldwide quota (1 pregnancy per 200,000 citizens in the patient’s country) which in this case is 26 pregnancies (Finnish citizens 5,223,442 : 200,000 = 26 pregnancies).
- I have straws but I cannot see which MOT-quality it is?
All straws are marked with donor number and ejaculate number and "IUI" if it is IUI-ready, but it is not shown which quality (MOT) the sperm is. If you wish to get details about a specific ejaculate you can clic this link and get information about type, volume, quality (MOT) and date of donation.
- How can you know the post-thaw quality of semen?
A sample of each specimen is analyzed after first being frozen and thawed. The findings after thawing will result in the quality. For instance means "ICI-MOT10" more than 10 (up to 19) million highly motile spermatozoa per ml after thawing.
- When can I expect delivery?
Orders:
Smaller or easy orders received before 11.00am can be shipped same day.
Smaller or easy orders can - against en express fee - and if received before 2.00pm be shipped same day.
Larger or more complicated orders cannot be shipped same day we receive the order.
Delivery time:
Denmark: Normally next weekday.
Europa: Normally 1-2 week days from shipment.
Rest of the world: Normally 1-5 days depending on destination. For some distinations custom clearance procedure can prolonge the delivery time even more.
Cryos refrain from all kind of responsibility in case of delay.
Delivery will some times take longer than expected and ovulation time can be difficult to predict. Therefore it is recommended to order in good time before planned use. If you have a local nitrogen storage tank we recommend dry-ice shipments, but only for shipments Monday through Wednesday. Dry-ice (5 kilos) thaws after about 3-4 days.
Observe that shipments on dry-ice can only be shipped to some countries - click here ...
In case where you do not have a nitrogen storage tank or shipments Thursday through Friday we strongly recommend shipments in nitrogen tanks as they last longer. Nitrogen tanks thaw after 1 week (small tanks) or 2 weeks (large tanks).
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- What documentation will follow the shipment?
Invoice, Packing List, Donor Characteristic & Quarantine Release form (see example, click here ...).
The DC&CR-form shows what Standards the donor and ejaculates is released to. It also indicate if the the donor has reached any pregnancy quotations.
Instructions how to handle the semen is written in the Packing List.
- What are the terms of sales and delivery?
- What are the shipping costs?
- What methods of payment do you accept?
Cash, check, credit card payment and standard bank transfer. Bank and account number appear on our invoices and may also be given on request
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- Which currencies do you accept?
Only DKK (Danish Kroner) or EUR (Euro). The invoiced can be made out in DKK or EUR (€ according to the daily exchange rate).
- Payment with bank transfer
You can make a bank transfer. Either via home-banking or if you contact your bank. Our bank details are:
Danske Bank A/S, Holmens Kanal 2-12, DK-1092 København K
Payment in DKK:
Reg. no. 3627 Account no. 0002630699.
IBAN no. DK 2330000002630699
SWIFT-BIC: DABADKKK
Payment in EUR (ex. Germany):
IBAN no. DK8730002138818740
SWIFT-BIC: DABADKKK
Payment from Germany:
Danske Bank, Zwigniederlassung Hamburg, P.P. Box 101522, 20010 Hamburg: Nr. 4989143859.
IBAN nr. DE 65203205004989143859
SWIFT-BIC: DABADEHH
If the order is urgent please fax or e-mail documentation that the payment has taken place.
You can also send us a cheque. Observe that we cannot ship the order until the check has been received.
In both cases please send us the order details (by fax or e-mail): Name, address, donor number, quantity and quality of straws, reservation/shipping and total amount, etc.
Please remember to indicate what the payment is for (Invoice number, Deposit number, etc.)
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