Midwest sperm bank? - Page 3

[twins07]

Midwest Sperm Bank

Are there any Moms who used Midwest Sperm Bank. I saw some postings from 07. We had twins Feb 07 and used MSB. I was watching Oprah while the kids took their AM nap and wondering about all the issues. What do you think of the sibling registry? When should one join? Chicago Lesbian moms still on this?

[TTC1]

Originally Posted by twins07

Are there any Moms who used Midwest Sperm Bank. I saw some postings from 07. We had twins Feb 07 and used MSB. I was watching Oprah while the kids took their AM nap and wondering about all the issues. What do you think of the sibling registry? When should one join? Chicago Lesbian moms still on this?

Hi, I've already joined the sibling registry. What donor did you use?

[pranava]

Has anyone here been successful with MSB #44, or is using #44 right now? We're using #44 and I'm just curious to see how many kiddos are out there or may be out there soon.

[mahrens77]

Originally Posted by pranava

Has anyone here been successful with MSB #44, or is using #44 right now? We're using #44 and I'm just curious to see how many kiddos are out there or may be out there soon.

He was our back up (he's the Greek, right?) - we went with 197.

Good luck!

[astraphell]

Originally Posted by pranava

Has anyone here been successful with MSB #44, or is using #44 right now? We're using #44 and I'm just curious to see how many kiddos are out there or may be out there soon.

He's #3 on our list. We've tried with him twice but no luck. George Clooney, right?

[pranava]

Yep, the Greek George Clooney!

[smartycat]

For those of you using Midwest sperm bank, have you had any problems communicating with them? We are thinking of switching from Xytex to Midwest but I have e-mailed them twice and called once and no one has gotten back to me. So far not impressed. Is there a trick to getting them to contact you?

Do you know if they will work with a midwife? A general practitioner? Or does it have to be an RE and/or OB?

They will deliver the tank to your home right?

Sorry for all the questions but I can't seem to get them to answer them.

[mahrens77]

Originally Posted by smartycat

For those of you using Midwest sperm bank, have you had any problems communicating with them? We are thinking of switching from Xytex to Midwest but I have e-mailed them twice and called once and no one has gotten back to me. So far not impressed. Is there a trick to getting them to contact you?

Do you know if they will work with a midwife? A general practitioner? Or does it have to be an RE and/or OB?

They will deliver the tank to your home right?

Sorry for all the questions but I can't seem to get them to answer them.

Well, there is no "they" which is probably the source of your troubles. It's just Joanne, who seems to be a one woman show. I would call. We got good turn around on emails after talking with her on the phone first.

She will ship to your house, and she is fine with midwives. We are using a free standing birth center with midwives who also did our IUI (except the one we did at home) and they signed all her paperwork with no problems.

Good luck!

[smartycat]

Thanks Mahrens for the swift reply. Maybe you replying first is a sign we should go with them. I am very interested in donor #197, which is the donor you used, right? Of course, from the catalog the only thing that interests me is his Polish heritage. Being 100% pure-bred Polack, that is something I have been looking for in a donor.

I guess I'll just keep trying. Is there a better time of day to get ahold of her? Or do you always have to leave a message and she will call you back?

[astraphell]

Originally Posted by smartycat

Thanks Mahrens for the swift reply. Maybe you replying first is a sign we should go with them. I am very interested in donor #197, which is the donor you used, right? Of course, from the catalog the only thing that interests me is his Polish heritage. Being 100% pure-bred Polack, that is something I have been looking for in a donor.

I guess I'll just keep trying. Is there a better time of day to get ahold of her? Or do you always have to leave a message and she will call you back?

Hey, Smartycat! I have to say, Joanne is quite an interesting character but she's always been great and come through for us when we need it. She's been great about suggesting alternate donors when our first choice isn't available, and she's gladly shipped out very last minute when we've been in a pinch.

My advice is to get the paperwork all filled out and faxed in, then try calling, later in the afternoon seems to be the best. Remember, Chicago is on Central time, so early in the morning she's not usually there. We've found that ordering in advance, even if you're not exactly sure when you need the shipment is the best way to ensure that you get your first choice donor.

As much as I hate to say it, money is a major factor for us in determining what bank we went with, and there just isn't anything out there that's a better value than Midwest. They are missing some of the bells and whistles of other banks, but I love that they will ship to your home with no issues, and you can't beat the price.

Hope this helps!

[smartycat]

Thanks astraphell. Joanne wrote back to me today. I guess next step is getting some paperwork filled out. I hate to say it, but cost is an issue here too. Two vials and shipping at Midwest is less than one vial without shipping through Xytex! We may end up using a known donor / fresh next month, but it is good to have options.

[TTC1]

Joanne is Great and Midwest sperm counts are too!! there is a woman that post at FertilityFriend commutnity that had a count of 120 million with 70% motility when she had her IUI. You can't beat that with frozen donor sperm and 2 other woman that have had high counts like that when they had their IUIs using Midwest(I'm sure it depends on which donor your using too).

Good Luck ladies!!

[pleasantstreets]

I posted earlier, but just wanted to reiterate that we were thrilled with our Midwest experience. I too thought the customer service was a little "off" - not bad, just not what I expected - but we were thrilled to get pregnant on the fourth try! Also, I liked that when I called to say we had not gotten PG after our third vial (we'd ordered four at a time), and to discuss whether or not to stay with our donor or switch, she was very upfront about the fact that he'd not had any succesful pregnancies (that she knew of), but she did know of one miscarriage (and we were pretty sure we'd had a chemical on taht third try), so she was all ready to suggest another donor if we wanted to switch, but she also encouraged us to try again with him if we wanted, since he had the ethnic profile we wanted. Just sort of plain spoken and direct, which was nice.

I do think she steers an AWFUL lot of people towards those few "super donors", which sort of makes me nervous, especially since SO many of her clients are local/Midwest, but our donor was not a popular one so for us we're not worried.

Good luck!

[lpd1821APZ]

looking for #197 mothers!

hello everyone,
I am looking for mother's who used donor #197 from MWSB. I am going to be using him this month due to not being able to get 38. This month will be the third month i've tried with 197

[smartycat]

Originally Posted by lpd1821APZ

hello everyone,
I am looking for mother's who used donor #197 from MWSB. I am going to be using him this month due to not being able to get 38. This month will be the third month i've tried with 197

I think mahrens77 used that donor and we are interested in him too. We haven't made the switch to Midwest yet, but that would be one of our top choices if we do. Let us know how it works out!!

[lpd1821APZ]

smartycat~

I have only gone through MWSB and i haven't had any real problems.. I will give you this advice.. Don't bother trying to get 38 because he is hard to get. One month you can get him and then the next time you have to wait 3 months. That's my problem. I want my 38, got my hopes up because I was able to get him, and now this month i cant. So i'm thinking about just going with 197 for good. but besides that, Joanne at MWSB is great.

[lpd1821APZ]

I was reading the boards and whatexactly is a chemical pregnancy?

[frog]

Originally Posted by lpd1821APZ

I was reading the boards and whatexactly is a chemical pregnancy?

Very early miscarriage.

[kbk]

#038-midwest

I feel better reading that everyone feels good about midwest sperm bank. I agree with the customer service-my partner and I have been using midwest for 5 months. our very first try we achieved pregnancy but had an early miscarriage. I agree that #038 is a hot commodity. has anyone used #060 with luck? We have noticed as we have used midwest more, joanne has opened up to us and once we got used to her communication style, it has been much easier to deal with.
Does anyone have any other suggestions of donors they used that are not her "superdonors" that had success?

[mahrens77]

I am currently 14 weeks pregnant with 197. So far, so good!