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Question about sperm banks and hi!
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Maggie and we got married in September 2008 and live in San Diego. We will be using a sperm bank to conceive our child because DH had a vasectomy after his 2nd child was born and it's been so long that a reversal is unlikely to work. I finally found a bank I want to use and wanted to see if anyone had a direct experience with them. Also, when should I do an initial consultation? What is the process I should expect? Basically, how long does it take to conceive? We hope to have a baby by the summer of 2010. Here is a link to the bank. It's within driving distance, so it would be perfect for me. Sorry for all the questions, I'm just finally starting to do research and have no idea what to expect. Thanks so much!
Re: Question about sperm banks and hi!
hi Maggie! welcome to the board.
i don't have any experience with that bank, but i would say you should try to go in for your initial consult at least a month before you're wanting to start trying. here's how it worked for us: initial consult, then a progesterone level check on CD20--the first full day of your cycle is CD1, just count forward from that to see about when that is for you (your RE might not do this or do it on a different day based on your cycle length, but it's a simple blood test and i'd guess they will). they can probably start your very next cycle, and if your levels are good they'll likely try to start off with unmedicated cycles. if not, the first step is usually clomid with an hCG injection that you or your DH will administer at home about 36 hours before you go in for the insem. a medicated course will also mean internal ultrasounds to measure your follicles and uterine lining and see if you're ready to trigger with the shot.
from what i've seen, if you go naturally they'll have you take an OPK (just like a home pregnancy test, pee on a stick and see if a line shows up) and then when it's positive you'll go in the next day for an insemination. there are other women on the board who've gone that route who will be able to give you more info i'm sure. we've only done medicated cycles.
how long it takes really depends on a lot of factors, and unfortunately there's no good answer to that one. my wife and i are on our 5th cycle, but some friends of mine got pregnant on their first try, others took over a year, and some needed more help through IVF. i've read that on average it takes women 6 tries to get pregnant.
we've got a weekly check-in post on wednesdays for all the people on the board who are TTC that you're welcome to join in on--or any other post, for that matter. and anyone feel free to correct or add to anything i've said.
...wow that was long. sorry!
Hello and welcome!
We have not used that bank, but it's on our list because we are changing donors. It has a pretty good reputation though.
I am assuming you are going to TTC using IUI's, If so, like the PP said, do your consult early. Every Dr. is different and you don't want to have your plans delayed by tests, paperwork etc. When you have your consult ask your doctor about his/her success rates with frozen sperm and IUI.
I hope that helps. Let us know if you have any other questions.
Good Luck!
Well you can inseminate at home (called ICI, you just use a syringe like you use to give a baby liquid medicine) or with a doctor (they can do ICI or IUI, when it put directly into your uterus). So now that you have a bank, you'll need either an RE (reproductive endocrinologist), or OBGYN/midwives office that does inseminations.
The main downside of inseminating at home seems to be the doubt of if you're doing it right - for example, if the sperm defrosts too quickly or too slowly, it can die. With a doc - you can feel more confident about that.
As pps mentioned, you could do medicated cycles or unmedicated (your doc can help you decide which based on your own medical status).
As for how long it will take - the odds are less with frozen sperm because it doesn't live for as long in the body as fresh does. So you have to inseminate as close as possible to ovulation. I believe the average stats for conceiving with frozen sperm are 6-9 months (please correct me ladies if I'm wrong!), so of course some people take less, some take more.
HTH - good luck!
sahm ~ toddler breastfeeder ~ cloth diaperer ~ baby wearer
Can't help with the sperm bank as we used a different one but I can tell you our experience. We did unmedicated iui at a nurse mid-wife practice. We got pregnant on our third try. It all totally depends on so many factors and changes from woman to woman so as pp said it is a range. If you don't have any known fertility problems you might want to look into any midwives in the area that do iui which is a happy medium between an RE and tons of intervention and home inseminations. Hope you join us on the ttc posts in the future.
welcome
sam