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We all often fall into the societal pressure to accept that more or bigger is better, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes there is an optimal amount, as is the case of the number of sperm required to achieve pregnancy through insemination.

At Fairfax Cryobank we have a specimen quality standard that all vials (ICI and IUI) will have a minimum of 10 million Total motile cells (TMC) per vial. We chose to put 10 million TMC per vial after careful consideration of data from laboratories at the Genetics & IVF Institute, our parent company founded in 1983, and extensive literature review.

Several studies demonstrate that when it comes to pregnancy rates, more is not always better. There is an observed plateau in pregnancy rates once the concentration of cells reaches 10 million. (Van Voorhis et al, 2001) & (Cressman et al, 1996). 

We have carefully calculated what we believe to the optimal concentration of cells in the specimen for the ultimate goal of bringing home a healthy happy bundle of joy.