this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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Help with figuring out sperm storage (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Hey ladies ❤️

I have my first consult with an endocrinologist on Monday to start HRT! I'm so excited to begin this part of the journey but have one snag that I'm having trouble getting past.

My wife and I are trying to store some of my sperm in case we want a second child in a few years. Obviously I need to do this before I can start E, but am having issues finding a bank near me and figuring out how much to store, how to prep and all that.

So a couple questions for those that went through the banking process before starting their journeys:

How much should I bank for IUI to "effectively guarantee" there will be enough stored to get a positive pregnancy? I've heard that IUI has a really low success rate, but I have no idea how much sperm is used per session and exactly how much I should store to make sure we don't run out?

Any one have experience using a mail in service? And if so, what was the process like? And are their labs out there that accept insurance?

What do I need to do in order to prep for deposit? I've read that abstinence for 5-7 days is ideal. What about medical tests or referrals?

Generally, any recommendations on mail in labs would be really helpful. Preferably with a lower up front cost for the mail kit, washing and prep, and maybe a year of storage to start off?

Thank you for any insights ❤️ this is my last step before I can dive into HRT and want to get to my biHRTday so bad 😭

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I used https://sppare.me/ and the process was super simple. You can order kits for 1, 2, or 3 samples. They all come with a year of storage and can be paid in installments, then storage $245 ($165 for one sample) per year. Each sample gets 3-6 vials of sperm, which is about how much it takes for a successful pregnancy from IUI.

You don't need any referrals or anything, just place the order and get the kits in the mail. They recommend a week of abstinence before each sample to get the highest sperm count. You collect the sample, package it up, and bring it to a FedEx dropbox.

I don't have any experience with retrieval yet, but the collection process was really easy and I didn't have any issues. The hardest part was finding the FedEx dropbox to bring it to.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Thank you! This seems to be the most straight forward company and pricing. Might go with them myself. Thanks again!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I got a referral through my gender clinic for mine which included some really nice storage prices.

Abstinence is definitely encouraged and seems to help. They should let you know if you've got enough stored to have a good chance at a future pregnancy, but you can likely just go for a second time to store more without increasing the costs, at least it didn't increase my costs.

My first appointment resulted in 11 straws, and from memory each storage straw is one try. By the second appointment I had 25 or so, and thankfully they were much more healthy that time, but that amount is kinda overkill from what they described.

Personally I wouldn't want to do mail in, just in case. It's insanely awkward going to the lab, but they really prefer you do it there to have the best chance of viable sperm to store. But mail in might be okay, I never researched it because it wasn't an option for my place.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

I definitely agree with not necessarily wanting to do a mail in kit, but it may be my only option if I don't want to drive 2 hours one way to a lab. With an extremely car sick 18mo, my options are very limited. :/

Thank you for giving me some insight on your prep stuff!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Preferably with a lower up front cost for the mail kit, washing and prep

You got to think they may want to recoup that money later in the process with hidden fees and high-pressure tactics when you attempt to either withdraw or terminate the service contract.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ooo. That's a really good point and I didn't even think of that. I can totally see that being an issue.

I thought I could just go to a fertility doc and they'd take care of it all for me, but it looks like I need to find my own bank and I'm just a little lost as to what all I need to do to get the ball rolling.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I’m just a little lost as to what all I need to do to get the ball rolling.

Search engine of your choice and enter "gamete storage [location]"

You'd probably be better off with a place than a mail-in service if you can swing it, "whether insurance will pay for it" depends very much on what country you are it, and if you do end up going with a mail-in service consider the fact that if you place your swimmers in your mail box, it will go to a distribution center before continuing on to whatever lab its headed toward and degrees and minutes count.

You can cut down that time they aren't temperature controlled if you are able to transport your package to the distribution center yourself and mail it from there, but then there's still the issue of where and when to get your gametes from you into the package.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

You're right, that was my US privilege showing. My bad.

I am located in the US. In the state of Indiana - but I hear you. It really depends on location and my coverage whether I could get it covered.

I'm going to keep looking for a relatively close bank around me because a mail in kit does make me nervous. At bare minimum, I would definitely make sure not to start taking E until I knew for certain there were no issues from transport.