Choosing and Transporting the Donor Sperm from Bank to Hospital

To simplify things for us and follow the guidelines for themselves, Manipal Hospital (MHB) gave us contact details of a Donor Sperm Bank in Jayanagar (operated in Bangalore, but had nation-wide samples). After speaking to the Bank, we discovered that things shown in the Bollywood Hindi Movie “Vicky Donor” was not fake, if not 100% true. People have huge demands for Donors for both the gametes.

I visited them alone, assuming that it would be little discomforting for DH to go along and ask for Donor Sperms. They had a list of donors and asked me to pick a donor on the basis of their Blood Group, Height, Weight, Complexion of Skin, Eyes and Hair, Build and Education. I selected the sample of my DH’s Blood Group. They had several huge cans (bigger than milk cans used to collect cow milk in the barns) filled with Liquid Nitrogen and Frozen Donor Gametes. Thankfully, the sample I chose were readily available and all they required was a letter from the Doctor stating the reason for purchase and of course, the money. Since our Transfer Date was after more than a month and to be used for ICSI, I told the Bank to block the sample for me. I made a junior doctor at MHB speak to the Sperm Bank to authenticate my request.

The day my ICSI date was finalized (3-Day transfer on 1^st Aug’14), 5 days prior to that I collected the sample (handed over to me in a mini flask with vials submerged in Liquid Nitrogen, hanging inside attached to a strong thread,) along with the Authentication Report (Semen Analysis, HIV, HCV, HBSAG and VDRL reports) and gave it to MHB's Lab for fertilization process. Transportation had to be done delicately; the flask had to be kept 90 degrees perpendicular to the ground. Although I had placed the flask on the co-driver's seat (seat-belt tightly fastened), driving alone with the flask was difficult.