Frequently Asked Questions

I want to have a baby, what do I need to do?
The first thing you need to do is register as a client (see below). Secondly, educate yourself as much as you can. Consider an appointment with your health care provider. Read the information on our website. We have links under our "Resources" tab located at the top of our home page. Thirdly, talk with yours peers. Click on our Forum and send posts to the wonderful folks participating. They may have been through similar situations which you may find helpful. And last, do your best to relax, think positive and enjoy the journey as much as you can.

Do I need to work with a physician or other health care provider?
No, NW Andrology & Cryobank provides the option of sending the specimens to you directly for home inseminations, or we can send them to your health care provider should you wish to utilize their services for an office insemination.

How do I register as a client so that I am able to order specimens?
If you plan to self-inseminate at home, please submit the paperwork for working without a physician. If you plan to have your doctor, nurse, or midwife perform your intrauterine inseminations, please submit the paperwork for working with a physician. If you would like the flexibility of doing either, please provide both agreements along with your doctor’s release. Client Registration Forms

Can I fax my client paperwork to NW Andrology & Cryobank?
We accept faxed copies for registrations provided they are legible. Additionally, we ask that you mail the original documents for our records. Please include the client registration form, donor selection form, request for donor sperm agreement, import donor request form, doctors release form if using a health care provider, and a copy of your drivers license for age verification.

Can I place an order as soon as my paperwork has been received by NW Andrology & Cryobank?
Registration forms are processed within 1-5 business days. We will send you an e-mail (provided one is included in your registration form), upon receipt and again once your account is active. Once your account is active you may begin ordering. There is no fee to register with our facility

How do I order the sperm specimen(s)?
Once you are a registered client, you must call our office at (509)232-0132 or (800)786-5251 to place your order. Because our inventory can change hourly, we want to make sure we are able to help you to the best of our ability. We are able to do a "real time" look at our inventory while we have you on the phone.

If I paid a deposit, how can I get my dewar deposit refunded back to me?
Make your request by phone, note, or email. Once we confirm that the equipment has been returned to us in good condition and that your account is current, we will issue you a deposit refund check within one to five business days. After the check is sent to you, your account will be placed on inactive status. Should you wish to order further specimens at a later date for siblings etc., you will be asked to submit new client registration paperwork and may at that time again be required to submit an equipment deposit.

Can I re- use the home insemination kit supplies?
These supplies are sterile and individually wrapped and should never be re-used. Once used, these supplies could harbor bacterial growth and contaminate or affect any specimens used with the same supplies at a later time. Order one set per specimen.

If I order multiple specimens, can I use one at a time without thawing out the others?
Yes. You will be able to remove only the specimen or specimens that you wish to use right away from the shipping dewar. Shipping Dewar Information and Details

Can I defrost one specimen and use part now and part later?
Once thawed, a specimen should always be used in its entirety. If you refreeze a specimen, many more of the sperm will die. Use the whole specimen, as the sperm will live longest in your internal environment of the upper reproductive tract.

I ordered two vials and can only find one vial in my dewar? I'm missing a vial!
We double check every shipment for completeness. We normally ship one vial per cane unless room in the dewar requires multiple vials per cane. If you have a cane in your delivery dewar that does not have a vial on it, please check the bottom of the dewar can for the missing vial. Vials are held onto the cane by slight friction only. Should the dewar experience undue jostling during transport, a vial could pop out of the friction hold of the cane and fall to the bottom of the can. It is easy to retrieve for use. Simply lift the can handle straight up and out of the dewar and its' shipping box. Turn the can upside down over a flat area of floor (not over the box or dewar) and the vial will fall out. You can then return the can to the dewar, place the vial back onto a cane and return the cane w/vial back into the dewar can in the dewar until ready to remove and use. Should you actually find that a vial is missing entirely after checking the can, please call the lab during regular business hours.

What does the number printed on the dewar mean? It doesn't match my donor number?
The number written on the top shoulder of the dewar is our internal ID number used for tracking purposes only. You will need to match the donor number on the invoice with the donor number on the vials inside the dewar. Follow the instruction sheet included with your shipment

Can I specify the time of day for my delivery?
We are unable to arrange for specific delivery times. We are unable to arrange for weekend deliveries of this product.

Do I have to be home for my delivery?
No, but you should have someone available to accept the delivery at your delivery address of choice. A large package left on a front porch or other isolated or private location is an invitation for theft. You may want to apply this same logic for pickup and return of the dewar.

Can I have the delivery made to a UPS store or similar private mail station?
Unfortunately, we can't offer that service, but we can have deliveries held at the nearest carriers facility such as a local Federal Express facility. The package can be held there for you to pick up at your option.

Can I pay by credit card?
Most orders can be paid with major credit or debit cards. We require the card number, card security code (card verification value), cardholders name and address. For your protection, and to avoid fraudulent use of credit cards, all information must match the data base records for that card. We are not able to process multiple cards for a single purchase, nor will we attempt authorization on the same card more than two times unsuccessfully. Please make sure that your card information is up to date. Payment Information/Options.

Will I have to provide a deposit for the use of a shipping dewar?
You may be required to submit a dewar deposit prior to shipments. Deposits on shipping dewars are completely refunded to you when our equipment is returned to us without damage and you no longer need to use our dewar for shipments. Deposit refunds are issued back to you by mailing you a check within the week of your request.Payment Information/Options.

Are all donors on the donor listing available?
In general the donors listed are available for purchase, but that doesn't mean that they are available for immediate use. All donor specimens are held in quarantine for a minimum of six months by federal regulation. Specimens that are in quarantine are also available for purchase, but not for immediate use.

How long will it be for my quarantined units to be released for my use?
That depends upon the date that we are able to re-run donor testing at a time greater than six months after the donation was made and frozen. We are happy to give you estimates of the anticipated release time, but are unable to guarantee an exact date until the donor’s blood has been drawn and we have received the results of the testing from the outside reference lab. This time lapse can be a way of assuring availability of your donor when you are ready. There are no associated storage charges when quarantined units are held for you.

What are my chances of success?
If you are of normal fertility, under the age of 38 (statistically important), and are able to time your inseminations appropriately to your ovulation, your chances of success should approach that of a normal fertile couple, which is about 20% per cycle. You can see our latest stats reported by viewing Recent Success Statistics.

How long should I try?
We normally suggest that if you are unable to achieve success within 6 well timed cycles of artificial insemination, you may want to consider meeting with your doctor specializing in fertility. They may suggest you proceed to intrauterine inseminations to get more sperm higher in the reproductive tract at exactly the right time to increase your odds of success, or they may determine that there are other fertility factors. Of course there are many reasons that one may not achieve pregnancy even if fertilization of the egg occurs during a cycle, and only your physician will be able to assess you physically.

How many pregnancies are allowed from one donor?
We stop sales of individual donors to new US clients at 25 pregnancies reported in the US per 800,000 population. (see below). We freeze limited quantities of all of our donors, which in and of itself limits the number of pregnancies statistically. If there are "family-unique" pregnancies within the 25 reported, we are happy to provide access to those specimens for sibling use by those previously reporting success. If we should stop sales of a particular donor due to pregnancies reported, and you have purchased and stored units for that donor, those are yours to use on your own time-line.

What is CMV and what do I need to know?
Consider reviewing the attached link Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and You.
CMV donors have a demand that exceeds the supply. For this reason, it could be very beneficial to you to request your doctor order a simple blood test to determine your personal CMV status. If you show past exposure to CMV, your donor selection choices are greatly expanded.

What needs to be done to transfer ownership of vials?
The transfer of ownership of anonymous commercial donor sperm held in storage at NW Andrology & Cryobank must be authorized by NW Andrology & Cryobank. Both parties, the seller and the purchaser, must be current registered clients of NW Andrology & Cryobank. The purchaser must have a shipping address to which NW Andrology & Cryobank can provide delivery service through Federal Express. We will not transfer the ownership of a portion of the units held by the seller, as disputes can arise over the specificity of units sold or retained. All units held in storage must be transferred from the seller to the purchaser at one time. This will close the storage account of the seller.
Neither the account of the seller or the purchaser can have an outstanding balance due. The seller would need to provide to NW Andrology & Cryobank the following in order for a transfer to be considered for authorization:
a.) A Bill of Sale in which the seller identifies the purchaser by name, the donor number, the number and format of the units to be transferred and states that she understands that she will no longer have access to any units of the donor. This document must be signed and dated. If the specimens have ever left NW Andrology & Cryobank, the Bill of Sale would need to so state and specify that no guarantee regarding the total motile sperm count would be provided.
b.) Administrative fee of $75.00 to execute the transfer once authorized.
The purchaser would need to provide to NW Andrology & Cryobank the following:
a.) A completed storage agreement, either short or long term can be downloaded from the website. See Forms
b.) Pay in advance for storage
c.) Have a $500.00 (US) dewar deposit on account, if required by NW Andrology & Cryobank, prior to any specimen shipment.
All incoming paperwork must be complete and processed prior to the authorization of the transfer or the acceptance of any orders to ship specimens. Incoming paperwork is opened and processed in the order in which it was received so anticipate that it will require a minimum of five business days for processing and longer if the paperwork is incomplete.
The financial arrangements between the seller and purchaser are independent of NW Andrology & Cryobank. NW Andrology & Cryobank will not accept funds from the purchaser for the seller.
The purchaser is required to remit funds for all services in advance and to comply with all of NW Andrology & Cryobank standard policies regarding the placement of orders to have specimens shipped, the dewar return, late order fees, storage charges, etc. No orders could be accepted from the purchaser until the transfer of ownership has been completed and authorized.
NW Andrology & Cryobank is not able to accept transfers of sperm specimens from other facilities that are then transferred or sold to a new party.