What Should I Look for in a Bank, Clinic or Service?

Much of the information the gamete provider and then potential recipient parent receives is based on self-reported information from a donor. While many donors are quite forthcoming, some may be less so (after all, hopeful donors can be disqualified from donating if they fail to meet the standards set by the program). Other donors simply knowingly or unknowingly have limited information. There is no federal requirement to verify information, but some banks and programs do work to verify information by performing genetic carrier screenings on donors, conducting criminal background checks, and verifying their educational histories. Other providers will conduct these checks at an additional cost for recipient parents. While these verifications will not catch everything, it may be an added source of information and comfort as a recipient parent.

There is no federal requirement that donors have psychological evaluations, even though it is recommended by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Psychological evaluations can help screen for impactful mental health diagnoses that can be passed down from parent (or donor) to child – like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. It can also help uncover if donors are donating for concerning reasons.

While counseling can help donors process their feelings about donating and having genetic children that they will not raise, it is not a federal requirement. Counseling also offers donors an opportunity to consider the impacts on their own future family plans (such as what if they donate now and experience infertility when they go on to have children they plan to raise?). Like psychological evaluation, counseling can also help uncover concerns about the donor or their motivations for donating.

Family limits is a topic that potential recipient parents often don’t think. However, many recipient parents become concerned about it soon after their child is born and most donor-conceived adults have major concerns on this topic. There are no federal laws regarding family limits, meaning that a donor (typically a sperm donor) could continue donating and potentially create hundreds of children – your child’s genetic half-siblings. This doesn’t always feel like a priority at the contemplation stage, but when you consider that your child may come to interact with these siblings unknowingly or simply desire to know more about their half-siblings as they grow up, it can be much more concerning if the number is large. Additionally, while many banks, clinics and service providers do have self-enforced limits, those are often only within the United States. Many donor programs ship gametes across the globe. If family limits concern you, this is an important discussion point with your provider. Making sure you have a real understanding about the numbers within and outside the U.S., as well as if it’s based on reported births or families who have received donations, can offer insights.

Again, this is a topic that many recipient parents don’t consider early in the process. Some banks and programs have sibling registries where parents can share information with other parents who have used the same donor. This can be particularly helpful when hoping to build connections for biologically-related children as well as sharing medical updates and diagnoses that may be hereditary. Other banks and programs do not offer these platforms and may even actively discourage using commercial DNA testing to connect with half-siblings; which can make connecting very difficult and frustrating if you wish to go down that road later on.

Many sperm and egg banks are still actively recruiting undisclosed (anonymous) donors – some are only recruiting undisclosed donors. As you’ll read more about later on, anonymity and openness are often very important topics for donor-conceived people. Knowing that your future child can potentially have access to your donor is an important consideration as you make your decision.