Frequently asked questions about sperm banks

Cascade Cryobank is a sperm bank in Lynnwood, Washington, founded in 2021 and serving individuals and families building their families through donor conception. We are FDA registered, CLIA certified, and licensed by the Washington State Department of Health.

Two things set our catalog apart: rigorous multi-stage donor screening, and the Early Disclosure Program, which gives parents access to donor identifying information after a birth rather than waiting until a child turns 18.

Anyone building a family through donor conception. We serve LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, single mothers by choice, and heterosexual couples experiencing male infertility. You do not need to be partnered, and you do not need a diagnosis.

Three differences matter most to the families who choose us.

• The Early Disclosure Program, the only program of its kind in the United States, releases donor identifying information after a birth instead of at age 18.
• We have phased out anonymous donors. Every new donor is Open ID or Early Disclosure.
• We hold a limit of 25 families per donor worldwide and monitor it with controlled specimen release rather than reporting alone.

Fertio is the international fertility care group that owns Cascade Cryobank. Founded in Denmark in 2004, Fertio has more than 20 years in donor conception and fertility preservation and has helped bring over 60,000 children into the world. The group also owns European Sperm Bank and Berliner Samen Bank.

Cascade Cryobank operates under its own name, from its own facility, with its own team.

Yes. Cascade Cryobank is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, certified under CLIA, and licensed by the Washington State Department of Health. Our first routine FDA inspection served as external validation of our quality management program.

If you have time before you plan to start trying, begin tracking your ovulation roughly three months ahead. Knowing your cycle well is the cheapest thing you can do to improve your odds.

Alongside that: register for a free account to open full donor profiles, decide whether you want an Early Disclosure or Open ID donor, choose your donor, and work out how many vials you need including any you want to reserve for a future sibling. Then place your order.

No, unless you live in New York. You can browse the catalog and purchase vials without a referral, and if you are healthy there is no requirement for physician approval to inseminate at home.

New York residents inseminating at home need the New York State Home Insemination Waiver, completed by a healthcare provider and sent directly to Cascade. The form is under Resources then Forms on our site.

Yes, and it is a normal way to feel. Our Client Care team spends most of its day on exactly these conversations. They will go at your pace, answer questions in any order, and there is no expectation that you buy anything.

Call 206-659-7034 or email Service@cascadecryobank.com.

Use the Login / Register link at the top of any page on cascadecryobank.com. It takes a couple of minutes and needs only an email address. Accounts are free, and registering is what unlocks full donor profiles and the catalog filters.

You can see basic donor information without an account. Full profiles and the filter tools require a free account, which takes a few minutes to set up with just an email address.

Physical traits including height, weight, eye color, hair color and complexion, plus ethnicity, education, occupation and personal interests.

Full profiles, free once you register, add personality assessment results, childhood memories, goals, staff impressions and a complete health and genetic history. Some profiles include childhood photos.

Yes. The catalog filters on eye color, hair color, height, weight and complexion, as well as ethnicity, education level and disclosure type. Filters are available to registered account holders.

Our donors come from a wide range of backgrounds including Caucasian, Hispanic and Latino, Asian, African American, Middle Eastern, and mixed ethnicities. You can filter by ethnicity while browsing, and many profiles carry detailed heritage information.

It reflects family heritage the donor reported during their application. We ask donors who indicate Native American ancestry whether they hold a formal tribal affiliation, and to date none have reported an active affiliation.

We keep this information at the heritage level, describing the donor's known background rather than any legal, governmental or tribal classification.

The catalog covers a range of blood types. Every donor is tested to determine ABO group and Rh type, alongside a hemoglobinopathy panel that detects abnormal hemoglobin variants, and the result is listed in their full profile. If you need a specific type and want help narrowing the list, call 206-659-7034 or email Service@cascadecryobank.com.

All Cascade donors are between 19 and 39 years old. We do not release a donor's exact age or date of birth, but we can give you a narrower age range on request.

For some donors, yes, and there is no charge to see them. Adult photos are optional for donors, so not every profile has them. Email Service@cascadecryobank.com with the donor number and we will check.

The catalog changes regularly as new donors complete screening and vials sell. Register for a free account to see current availability and filter to what matters to you.

Retired means the donor is no longer actively donating. It does not always mean vials are gone, and you may still see inventory on the profile.

If you want a retired donor, buy enough vials for every cycle you are planning. Once retired, a donor is unlikely to produce more.

Yes, as long as vials remain. Vials you have already purchased or reserved stay yours regardless of the donor's status. Donors are listed as inactive when inventory runs out or when they complete the program.

Contact us before assuming they are gone. A donor showing no available stock may still have inventory inside the FDA-required six-month quarantine window that has not been released yet.

If the vials are genuinely exhausted and nothing remains in quarantine, you will need to choose a new donor for future attempts. This is the single strongest argument for reserving extra vials at the time of your first purchase, particularly if you want siblings.

Vials you have purchased or reserved are unaffected. Those specimens remain yours. We will notify you of any significant change affecting a donor you have selected.

Often yes. Onboarding a donor and compiling a full profile takes time, so a recently added donor may be missing sections that will fill in later.

Tell us the donor number and we will share as much additional information as we have.

Most people start with the filters, narrow to a shortlist on physical traits and disclosure type, then read the full profiles properly. Education, medical history, genetic screening results and personal background are where a shortlist usually resolves itself.

This is the part our team cannot do for you, but they can talk it through. Many families find a call at shortlist stage more useful than one at the beginning.

Every applicant goes through an extensive personal and family history questionnaire, semen analysis, genetic carrier screening, a karyotype evaluation, a medical evaluation by a physician, a psychological and personality evaluation by a licensed psychologist, a criminal background check, education verification, and a personal interview.

Eligibility is determined by our own acceptance criteria and by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's donor eligibility recommendations. Only a small percentage of applicants complete the process and enter the catalog.

All donors receive expanded genetic carrier screening on our current panel, which detects abnormalities across more than 700 genes, plus karyotype and chromosome analysis.

If you are identified as a carrier for a condition tied to a gene outside the donor's panel, we can arrange targeted testing of that specific gene.

A carrier has one typical copy of a gene and one variant copy. Carriers almost always live healthy, symptom-free lives, and nearly everyone is a carrier for something.

A condition can only pass on when both the egg and the sperm provider carry a variant in the same gene. In that case each pregnancy carries a 25% chance the child is unaffected and not a carrier, a 50% chance the child is a healthy carrier, and a 25% chance the child is affected.

Share your donor's screening results with your healthcare provider or a genetic counselor for guidance specific to you.

Yes. You can download the genetic screening results for any donor you are considering. We recommend sending them to your clinic, physician or genetic counselor, who can advise whether additional carrier screening on your side makes sense given your own medical and family history.

Our family history assessment covers the donor, parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, first cousins, nieces and nephews. That is a four-generation review.

Every donor completes a psychological evaluation with a licensed mental health professional who specializes in gamete donor assessment, through an independent third-party agency. The evaluation includes a review of available medical records, a clinical interview and the Personality Assessment Inventory.

We also offer counseling and support to Early Disclosure Program donors when children are born from their donations.

Yes. Every donor undergoes a criminal background check and education verification as part of screening.

Applicants must show no clinical or physical evidence of infection by HIV types 1 and 2, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human transmissible spongiform encephalopathy including CJD, syphilis, HTLV types I and II, chlamydia, gonorrhea, West Nile virus, sepsis, vaccinia or Zika. Anyone with behavioral risk factors for infection is excluded. Blood and urine testing then confirms this using FDA-licensed, approved or cleared donor screening assays, run by a CLIA-certified laboratory.

All specimens are quarantined for a minimum of six months, as the FDA requires. Donors are retested before any vial is released for HIV-1 and HIV-2, HTLV-I and II, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, West Nile virus and cytomegalovirus, confirming no infection was acquired while in the program.

Active donors also receive a physical examination and infectious disease screening at least every six months.

Cytomegalovirus is a common virus in the herpes family, similar in that sense to chickenpox. Most people encounter it at some point and for healthy adults it is generally harmless.

In pregnancy it carries more weight, and choosing a CMV-negative donor is a reasonable precaution if you do not know your own immunity status. Your healthcare provider can tell you what applies to your situation.

Several months. The FDA-required six-month quarantine and the retesting that follows it set the floor, and the medical, genetic and psychological stages run before that.

Yes. Donors who complete the program are asked to notify us of any relevant change to their medical history, family medical history or overall health, and we contact all donors annually by email to request updated health information.

Every specimen is evaluated for count, motility and morphology, and must meet our standards before release. Only donors who consistently produce high-quality specimens stay active in the program. For the parameters on a specific donor, contact our team.

Cascade Cryobank no longer accepts anonymous donor applicants. Every new donor is Open ID or Early Disclosure.

A small number of previously onboarded anonymous donors remain in the catalog under prior policy. If you have used one before, or have a child by one and want vials for a sibling, contact us.

The Early Disclosure Program is exclusive to Cascade Cryobank and is the only program of its kind in the United States. Once a live birth is reported, parents can receive the donor's name, date of birth and last known state of residence, without waiting until the child turns 18.

Parents can write to the donor and request a facilitated meeting, coordinated by a professional counselor, when both parties agree.

Both are identity-release. The difference is timing.

• Open ID: the donor-conceived person can request identifying information from Cascade once they turn 18.
• Early Disclosure: intended parents can request identifying information after the birth of the child and completion of the required documentation, with donor notification and the possibility of voluntary contact.

Neither program obliges anyone to be in contact. Any relationship is voluntary on all sides.

The donor's full name, date of birth and last known state of residence.

For Open ID, this goes to the donor-conceived person at 18. To match a request to a purchase we need the account holder's information on file, which is why reporting a pregnancy at the time makes a real difference years later.

For Early Disclosure, it goes to the intended parents after the birth is reported and a birth certificate is provided.

We ask all intended parents to report pregnancies and births. It keeps donor profiles current and helps us hold family limits.

If you have an Early Disclosure donor, reporting is required to receive identifying information, along with a copy of the birth certificate.

All identity-release commitments are written into our donor agreements and held in secure long-term records. In the event of a change in ownership or leadership, those commitments and records transfer to the successor organization.

If Cascade were ever to cease operations, records would be preserved or transferred in accordance with the applicable legal and contractual requirements, with the aim of protecting future access for donor-conceived people.

Families generally find that introducing it early, in age-appropriate ways, leads to the healthiest outcomes. Openness from the beginning tends to work better than a disclosure moment later.

Books, counseling resources and support groups for donor-conceived families are genuinely useful here. A licensed mental health counselor who specializes in donor conception is the best source of guidance, and our team can provide referrals and resources.

• IUI vials are pre-washed and ready for intrauterine insemination by a medical professional.
• ICI vials are unwashed, intended for at-home or intracervical insemination. A clinic can wash them for IUI or IVF, but washing reduces the count.
• IVF and ART vials are prepared for IVF and ICSI in a clinical setting.

Not every vial type is available for every donor. Your doctor or midwife should confirm which type suits your treatment plan.

Washed sperm has been processed to remove seminal fluid and debris, leaving the highest-quality sperm, which is what a clinic needs for an intrauterine procedure.

Unwashed sperm is intended for home insemination, where the cervix performs that filtering naturally.

Both directions usually work. If your donor only has ICI vials and you are working with a clinic, many clinics can wash the sample, though washing reduces the count so your clinic should advise on the number of vials. If your donor only has IUI vials, those are also suitable for home insemination.

For home insemination we recommend two vials per cycle. Time the first insemination about 12 hours after your highest LH reading or a positive ovulation test, and the second 24 hours after the first. Spacing them this way covers more of your fertile window.

If you are working with a clinic, ask them first. Your procedure and your own history may change the number.

Yes, and we recommend it. Donor availability changes, and reserving is the only way to protect the option of a biological sibling connection. Vials you reserve are held in storage at our facility.

Storage promotions run periodically, so ask what is current when you order.

Our dry shipper tanks hold specimens frozen for up to 14 days, counted from the day the tank leaves our facility. Transit uses some of that window, and the remainder is your time to complete the insemination.

Order directly on cascadecryobank.com, by email to Service@cascadecryobank.com, or by phone on 206-659-7034. The steps are: choose your donor, choose your vial type, place and pay for the order with a ship date, and complete the required agreements.

At least two business days before your chosen ship date, and up to a month in advance. That window lets us review the order and collect any missing documentation before the tank leaves.

The date you select at checkout is the day the tank ships, not the day it arrives.

To release a shipment we need a paid order with a ship date, shipping method and delivery address, plus:

• A Semen Purchase and Storage Agreement on file
• A Genetic Liability Release, required for every order
• An Early Disclosure Client Agreement, if your donor is in that programme
• The New York State Home Insemination Waiver, for home insemination in New York

Everyone signing a consent needs valid ID. Forms can be emailed to Service@cascadecryobank.com, and the answer below explains what each document covers.

Semen Purchase and Storage Agreement. Needed before you purchase or store vials with us. It sets out the terms of purchase, ownership, storage, shipping and your responsibilities.

Genetic Liability Release. Needed for every order, and again each time you buy from a new donor. It confirms you have reviewed that donor's genetic information and understand the potential risks, the limits of carrier screening, and our recommendations about genetic counselling or further testing.

Early Disclosure Client Agreement. Needed when your donor takes part in the Early Disclosure Program. It explains the programme, what information can be released, the process for requesting it, and what each party can and cannot expect.

New York State Home Insemination Waiver. Needed when vials ship to a home address in New York. Your healthcare provider completes it and sends it directly to us.

Four more come later, if and when they apply to you:

Pregnancy Report Form for reporting a pregnancy, and the Donor-Conceived Birth Report for reporting a birth. Both keep our pregnancy, birth and family limit records accurate.

Donor Information Request Form, used when a donor-conceived person requests identifying information about an Open ID donor, so we can verify eligibility before releasing anything.

Early Disclosure Identity Request Form, used when a family who conceived with an Early Disclosure donor wants that donor's identifying information. It starts the process and lets us confirm the programme requirements have been met.

Call 206-659-7034 or email Service@cascadecryobank.com. Changes are easier the earlier you raise them, particularly anything affecting the ship date.

It depends on the status of the order, and a fee applies to last-minute cancellations. Contact us as early as you can and we will explain the options available on your specific order.

Yes, for vials that have never left our facility.

• Within 30 days of purchase, you are eligible for a 100% refund.
• After 30 days, you are eligible for 50% of the amount you originally paid per vial.

Vials must have remained continuously stored at Cascade Cryobank throughout. Once a vial has left our facility it is no longer eligible for the buyback program, and shipping and storage fees are not included in the buyback amount.

Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Google Pay and Apple Pay.

For financing, we partner with CapexMD, a lender specializing in fertility patient financing. Loans run from $3,000 to $50,000 over terms of 6 to 60 months, with no membership fees, annual fees or prepayment penalties, and pre-approval within 24 hours. Family and friends can apply on your behalf. See our Financing page, or call CapexMD on 1-888-497-8414.

Across the United States, to homes, fertility clinics and reproductive specialists.

One exception to know about: New York home insemination requires additional signed paperwork before we can ship.

Yes. Home delivery is standard for at-home insemination, subject to the New York paperwork noted above.

Yes. We ship to fertility clinics and reproductive specialists nationwide, and to licensed nurses, midwives, doulas and other medical professionals. Contact us to coordinate the delivery details with their receiving requirements.

We do not sell directly to individuals outside the United States. Two markets are served through distributors:

• Canada: orders are handled by Canada Cryobank on 289-443-2796 or info@canadacryobank.com.
• Australia: orders are handled by Monash IVF on 1800 628 533 or monashivf.com. Not every donor is available in Australia under local rules, so give them the donor number and they will confirm.

Via FedEx, in certified cryogenic dry shipper tanks that hold frozen temperature throughout transit.

All methods deliver on business days.

• Overnight priority: arrives by 12:00 PM.
• Standard: arrives by 5:00 PM to a business address, 8:00 PM to a residential address.

Orders typically leave our facility within one to two business days. Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico can take slightly longer.

Only at our Lynnwood, Washington facility, for a small pickup fee. We do not offer pickup anywhere else. Outside Washington, vials ship to you or your clinic.

Your vials in a certified cryogenic dry shipper tank, printed instructions, and a home insemination kit for each vial being shipped. Use a new kit for each vial rather than reusing one.

FedEx emails your tracking information directly once the tank leaves our facility.

Yes, at all times. Keeping the dry shipper upright prevents leakage and protects the vials. If anything about the tank looks wrong on arrival, call 206-659-7034 before opening it.

Contact us immediately on 206-659-7034 or Service@cascadecryobank.com. Do not wait to see whether it resolves itself. We treat shipment integrity as urgent and will work to sort it quickly.

Yes. We ship directly to homes for at-home insemination, and each vial arrives with an insemination kit and printed instructions.

We recommend two vials per cycle, with the first insemination about 12 hours after your highest LH reading or a positive ovulation test and the second 24 hours later. Order with your cycle in mind, and our Client Care team can help you plan the dates.

New York residents inseminating at home need the New York State Home Insemination Waiver. It is completed by your healthcare provider and sent directly to Cascade, and we need it on file before we can ship. The form is under Resources then Forms on our site.

Infertility is usually defined for heterosexual couples as 12 months of regular intercourse without pregnancy. Because donor sperm has a verified count, we suggest a shorter threshold: if you have tried for around six months without success, book an appointment to check whether something medical is in the way.

Success rates vary with age, fertility diagnosis and the number of attempts, and any single figure would mislead more than it helped. Your fertility specialist or midwife can give you an expectation grounded in your own medical history.

We hold a limit of 25 families per donor worldwide, not counting the donor's own family. This is a limit on families, not children: one of those 25 families may have several children with the same donor and still counts once, so the total number of children can exceed 25.

We ask intended parents to notify us of births, and we control the number of specimens released from each donor and use a proprietary algorithm alongside reported pregnancies and births to monitor utilization. Those controls are what hold the limit, rather than reporting alone.

Yes. Our limits are global and are tracked across every market where our specimens are distributed, including through our distributors.

All Cascade donors legally waive parental rights and responsibilities to children conceived from their donated specimens. As the recipient, you hold full parental rights and responsibilities, subject to the laws that apply where you live.

Parentage law varies significantly by state, particularly for unmarried and same-sex parents. For anything specific to your situation, consult a family law attorney in your state.

Coverage varies widely by provider, plan and state. Some plans cover fertility procedures but exclude the cost of donor sperm itself, so check with your insurer directly.

We can provide documentation or itemized receipts to support a claim. Ask our team.