sending sperm in the mail?

[abbysgirl]

hello! i am new to the list and have some questions about the process of self-insemination using known donor sperm...

my partner and i are in the "planning" phase of getting pregnant and we feel somewhat clueless about coordinating the insemination because our donor lives in a different city than us. has anyone ever heard of kits that are available to send non-frozen sperm in the mail? i could have sworn i read about these kits, but now i can't figure out where to get more information. any information people have would be great.

thanks!
erin

[megincl]

http://www.zdlinc.com/biotranz_xp.html

We have used this kit and it's worked well. The sperm count was excellent when we brought the sperm to our doc for washing and an IUI.

We've done both at-home insems using this method and doctor-assisted IUI (for which they have to wash the sperm first). Our donor hasn't had a complaint about the process at all. And he ships it to us across the country. We usually have it about 16 hours later, and the ice packs are still totally frozen. I say go for it!

Good luck and welcome!!!! :

megin

[Twylightdove]

Hi Erin! I have a long-distance donor as well. This is the kit we use. http://www.donorhomedelivery.com/

It is the same buffer used by the other kit but he charges less. It is a small side biz for the Nurse Practitioner who started the Rainbow Flag Sperm Bank in SF. Unlike other kit sellers he will sell you extra buffer. We bought 3 kits, kept the rest of the kit and now buy 1 kit with an extra buffer each month. Saves us about $50-$100 each month depending on how many insems we do. It isn't much of a savings but when you've been shelling out for as long as I have it adds up. We checked our donor's shipment to make sure his goods survive the shipping and it was all good. His swimmers were wild and ready. I've only been doing the shipping fresh thing for about 4 months. One of those months doesn't even really count because I only had timing for 1 insem and I popped an egg 2 days before. Timing overnight shipping over the holidays sucked! With my last known donor, a local guy, I got pregnant on try 5 but miscarried. I'm hoping for the same luck with my long-distance guy.
Good luck!

[abbysgirl]

thanks for the info! this is VERY helpful.

[thismama]

Alternatively you could consider flying to your donor to insem. A bit more of a hassle, but then you can use fresh which is more effective, and airline tickets can be surprisingly affordable if flying domestically.

[mizsatisfied]

my partner and I have been using donorhomedelivery.com also and have been really happy. she got pregnant but miscarried last cycle. trying again tomorrow and hoping this one is it!