Testing & Screening
Advanced Testing and Screening
Choosing a donor is deeply personal. It’s not just about numbers or tests—it’s about trust, transparency, and feeling supported in one of life’s most important decisions.
At Seattle Sperm Bank, everything we do is designed to give you that confidence. That starts with the advanced screening of our donors and continue through the work of our Biological Analysts, who adhere to rigorous testing standards to ensure the very highest vial quality possible.
The SSB Product Promise: Because Quality Matters… and Counts
Quality isn’t just a standard here, it’s our promise to you.
To ensure the highest possible quality vials, we perform a post-thaw count on one vial from every lot to confirm that the sperm survive the freezing process and meet the strict minimums that make up the SSB Product Promise:
- IUI vials: ≥10 million motile sperm (0.5 ml)
- ICI vials: ≥15 million motile sperm (1.0 ml)
Because sperm is a motile biological specimen, and due to the variety of sperm counting systems used by various outside laboratories, vial counts obtained by an outside laboratory can predictably vary up to 25%, which is considered normal and still considered within the state acceptable range:
- IUI: ≥7.5 million motile sperm
- ICI: ≥11.25 million motile sperm
- IUI-ART: ≥3.0 million
- ICI-ART: ≥3.75 million
This variation does not indicate reduced quality or impact the potential for pregnancy.
If a vial falls more than 25% below standard, your clinic can submit a quality review request through this FORM or email clinicsupport@seattlespermbank.com and our team will promptly assist.
Important Notes:
- Quality guarantees apply only when proper thaw procedures are followed
- Applies at time of thaw (before further processing)
- Non-clinic deliveries are not eligible for standard guarantees
- ICSI vials follow separate standards and are not eligible for replacement
- We stand behind every specimen with pride and care. If you ever have questions or concerns, our team works directly with you and your clinic to ensure clarity and resolution.
Please Note: Our ICSI vial types contain less motile sperm than our standard IUI, ICI, IUI-ART and ICI-ART vial guarantees, and do not qualify for replacements or refunds. In addition, please note that our guarantee applies ONLY if our thaw procedures are followed and applies to specimen at the time of thaw, prior to any post-thaw processing.
Additionally, any orders placed for delivery to a non-clinic address (residence, place of work, UPS/FedEx Store, etc.), do not fall under our routine Quality Guarantee, as motile sperm count(s) cannot be verified by a trained andrologist or embryologist. Additionally, any claims of receiving a thawed cryotank or thawed vial(s), will need to be verified by sending the vial(s) back to Seattle Sperm Bank, with the return of the cryotank, for microscopic verification that the specimen was thawed and not used for insemination.
Industry-Leading Donor Testing & Screening
We are proud to go beyond industry norms in donor screening, which started when Seattle Sperm Bank pioneered the Genetic Carrier Screening, and we continue to expand our screening panels on various levels, which means that every donor is evaluated across multiple dimensions:
- Sperm quality and health
- Age, education, and personality
- Criminal background check
- Four-generation family medical history
- Mental health assessment by a licensed Ph.D. psychologist
Donors undergo extensive and ongoing medical evaluations that are reviewed by an experienced certified genetic counselor and a medical doctor, including:
- Blood and urine testing
- Infectious disease screening (HIV, Hepatitis, CMV, Syphilis, and more)
- Physical exams every 6 months (including EKG)
- Complete blood count, chemistry panels, and genetic markers
Every donor’s complete genetic testing includes:
Karyotype/ Chromosome Analysis:
For individuals who are assigned male at birth, a normal karyotype result is 46,XY, meaning the individual has 46 total chromosomes including one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. All donors are required to have a normal karyotype or a normal variant without clinical consequence.
Carrier Screening Panel
All incoming donor applicants have been screened with Fulgent Genetics Beacon+ Panel that includes up to 515 autosomal recessive diseases, including the diseases that are currently recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG).
This rigorous process ensures each donor meets the criteria of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), along with the standards of Seattle Sperm Bank national + international medical guidelines.
Every donor’s results are available for you to review, along with their full family medical history, and our Donor Search tool allows you to filter for donors based on specific genetic criteria—giving you more control and confidence in your selection.
If additional testing is needed, our genetics team can coordinate it for you, Genetics@SeattleSpermBank.com.