Donor Conceived Individuals

Fairfax Cryobank Welcomes Donor Conceived Individuals

We are thrilled to hear from people conceived using Fairfax Cryobank donor sperm. We know you may have questions about our program and donors and our team is here to help.  This page is designed to provide you with additional information about Fairfax Cryobank and to acquaint you with some of the resources that we have available.

About Fairfax Cryobank’s Sperm Donor Program

Fairfax Cryobank is the trusted source for donor sperm since 1986. Over time we have observed many changes and advancements in the field. In the early days before sperm banks were available, it was not unusual for a doctor to offer fresh semen from a donor he selected on behalf of an infertile couple. Information on the donor was often kept secret and little was known about his medical or personal history.

Today things are very different. Sperm banks make every effort to select healthy, educated donors who share many health-related and personal details about themselves. Our sperm bank will receive some 200 applications for each donor we ultimately select. Donors undergo many blood tests, semen tests and reviews of their family social and health history, a criminal background check, a psychological evaluation, and ongoing screening and testing.

Donor conceived individuals are learning about the circumstances of their conception in ever-increasing numbers, and Fairfax Cryobank advocates for early open disclosure to children to make the sperm donor part of their birth story. We estimate that now about 4,000 to 5,000 children a year are born in the US as the result of donor insemination.

Annual Updates from Donors 

We recognize that the donor’s medical profile is a snapshot in time and that it is important to continue to collect information from our donors over time.  In 2012, Fairfax Cryobank built a secure online system to collect annual updates from our retired sperm donors.  We reach out to our donors at least once a year to ask them to check in and update their and their family’s medical information.  Donors may also update their personal information as well.  The updated information is reviewed by our Medical Director and shared on the donor’s Summary Profile, available online for viewing. Please note that donors who donated before we started this update program in 2012 do not receive annual update requests if we do not have updated contact information for them. If you have questions about the information available for a specific donor, please contact our liaison to the donor conceived community at ([email protected].)

ID Program

In 2005, Fairfax Cryobank started a new donor category called ID. In this program, donors agree to release identifying information to people conceived using their donations once they reach the age of 18. We created this category because of the increased interest by families to have this option available. Identifying information, including donor name, date of birth, and address, is shared with donor-conceived people over 18 whose parent(s) used an ID donor and registered their birth with Fairfax Cryobank. Before 2005, Fairfax Cryobank donors did not agree to release their identifying information.

Since January 2020, Fairfax Cryobank has required all new donors to be ID program donors.  We also implemented a system to allow previously Non-ID donors to consent to the release of their identifying information.  This is not required, but we recognize that a person’s experience may lead to their changing their mind to be open to contact.  To change his status, a Non-ID donor must contact the Cryobank and complete a notarized form consenting to the release of his contact information.  This will not change the donor’s designation on the donor catalog, but it will be noted in the Summary Profile online.    (Please note that donors may NOT change from ID donors to Non-ID donors – they may only move from Non-ID to ID donors.)

Read more about our ID Program in our Blog Series (https://fairfaxcryobank.com/blog/no-silly-questions-donor-identifying-information)

Ready to Connect 

If you are ready to connect with your ID donor or with your Non-ID donor who has consented to the release of his contact information, you can complete this form and submit it online. 

If there is additional information needed to process your request, a member of our staff will reach out to you.  We need complete information to ensure that we can trace your identifying information back to order for the specific donor sperm. Once we have all the necessary information and have confirmed the order, we will reach out to the donor and ask him for his most up-to-date contact info and ask if there is a preferred method of contact.  Once we hear back from the donor, we will send the information to you. While we do ask a donor for his preferred method of contact, we do not permit donors to say that they are no longer willing to be contacted. If we do not hear back from a donor after receiving your request to connect, we will provide you with the most recent contact information we have on file.

Donor Information

We have a considerable amount of information about our donors, both Non-ID and ID, that is extremely valuable in learning about the donor as a person. Donors today have audio interviews recorded, childhood photos, some have adult photos, and all have detailed medical and personal histories. Their ethnicity, talents, interests, and even their favorite color and song are presented. Donors who are no longer donating also have information saved.  The information we have available on each donor will vary based on when the donor donated and which bank the donor donated with (e.g., Fairfax Cryobank or one of the banks that later was acquired by Fairfax, including CLI and PRS). If you have questions about the information available for a specific donor, please contact our liaison to the donor conceived community at [email protected].

Donor Family Limits

Donor sperm from one donor usually results in several births over many years. People may utilize units from a particular donor over a span of many years, so the children conceived using a donor’s samples may span a wide range of ages. You can read more about our policy of limiting donor pregnancies.  We make it easy for parents to report births through our website: https://fairfaxcryobank.com/pregnancy-report-form.Since donor sperm is shipped worldwide, the donor usually sells out before he reaches our distribution limit.

Fairfax Cryobank currently limits each donor to 25 families in the United States and 15 families internationally.  We recognize the importance of family limits and explain to our clients how important it is to report their births so we can accurately track family units.  Read more about our family limits policy in our Blog Series (https://fairfaxcryobank.com/blog/no-silly-questions-will-my-child-have-a-hundred-siblings)

Questions or Comments?

We are gratified and proud that we have been participating in helping families have wanted children for over twenty years. We hope you have been able to address some of your concerns.

Thank you for visiting Fairfax Cryobank!