We have a thorough in-house vetting process for acceptance of donors into our program. But, we are not a licensed medical facility and cannot determine a donor’s final eligibility to donate. The IVF center is solely responsible for determining the final eligibility of any donor. We will provide your IVF center with all the information we have, including previous cycle records, genetic testing results, psychological clearance, and our in-house profile and genetic questionnaire. Any additional medical, genetic, psychological testing required by your clinic must be ordered by your IVF clinic.

Our frozen donor sperm program is up and running.  We also have donors who are available for directed donations. What’s the difference? Frozen vials are ready to go (once the quarantine period is over) and we can ship directly to your clinic. Directed donation means the donor donates just for you. Want to know more?  Contact us here.

We don’t give legal advice; however, the consensus is that if the donation is completed through a physician, and the State’s legal statutes are followed, a donor should not be considered a legal parent or have a financial responsibility for a child born through his donation. We want to make sure everyone involved is protected, and each party will have legal representation throughout the process.

We do, however, believe there is a level of personal responsibility involved in donation, and it is in the best interest of the donor conceived person that his/her parents are open and honest about their genetic origins. We believe donors should update their medical, genetic, and psychological information annually or whenever there is a change that could affect a child. We also believe every donor should agree to release his identity to a child at age 18, if the child requests the information and if the child can prove the genetic connection. This does not mean a donor is obligated to have a relationship with that child.

Simply put, anonymity is no longer guaranteed. In this day of DNA testing, social media, and facial recognition software, the sperm donation arrangement may be revealed despite the intent of the parties. Both recipients and sperm donors should know that it is likely that familial connections will be revealed, and it is in the best interests of a donor conceived person to have knowledge of their genetic origins early. We require our donors to agree to sign a release of identity agreement, which means when the child reaches age 18, he/she provides proof of the DNA connection and makes the request for the release of information then the donor’s identity will be released.

Coast to Coast Sperm Donation currently works only with Identified, Identity Release and Semi Identified Donors. We have a six-family unit limit on donations. We provide opportunities for donors to be known to recipients, to participate in identity release or to choose how many families they wish to help.  Whether a donor is matched for a directed donation or goes through our frozen vial program, we still adhere to a six family unit limit. Recipients will still have the opportunity to speak with donors and have an identified donation arrangement.

An identity release donor is one who agrees that his full name can be released to a donor conceived person who reaches age 18, proves the genetic connection and requests the information. Many countries in the world require the automatic release of information without the request of the child or knowledge of the donor. In the U.S., the current requirements for identity release vary by State, but may include full name, a phone number, last known address, and an email address. Coast to Coast supports the release of the donor’s identity to donor conceived persons; therefore, we require an identity release agreement with our donors. We will only release information upon request of the person who has evidence he/she is a genetic offspring of the donor. We will not automatically release any donor information without an attempt to notify the donor first. If the donor can’t be reached within 30 days of the request, we will release the information. It is the donor’s responsibility to provide his updated contact information if he wants to know when someone requests his identifying information.

The primary difference between the two types of donors is when the identity of the donor is shared. In an open, known, or Identified donation the donor agrees to the release of full or limited information to the recipient at the time of donation or once a birth is confirmed. These types of arrangements often provide for an agreement of future contact between the donor and child once the child reaches age 18. The identifying information shared between the parties is based upon the desire of the parties, but may also be based on the clinic’s requirements, which varies from clinic to clinic. The information shared could be as simple as having a phone call or video chat in which first names or full names are used by the parties, or it could mean sharing all identifying information with one another at the time of the donation. The FDA requires that a known or identified donor must be known to the person carrying the child if there are any guidelines that are waived. So, in some cases it means the sperm donor must be known to the gestational surrogate and not the intended parent. With an identity release donor, the parties may share no information at the time of the donation or birth, but the donor’s identifying information is shared at the time the donor conceived person reaches age 18, proves a DNA connection and requests the identifying information of the donor.

While there is no obligation for a donor to meet a child, if this is something that is important to you, we can discuss the option with the donor before matching. We believe it is in the best interest of anyone conceived through sperm donation to have access to information about the donor’s medical, genetic and psychological status, so we do ask for annual updates until the child reaches the age of 18. Studies show there is a better and healthier outcome for the donor conceived person when they have this information, and a meeting with the donor can be mutually beneficial for all, but we allow the parties to decide this between themselves.

The term ‘anonymous’ has now been replaced by ‘non-identified’. Due to DNA testing, facial recognition software and online search, true anonymity is no longer possible. A recipient parent must understand that a donor who is classified as non-identified may still be discovered later when the child becomes of legal age. With today’s DNA testing, it is possible that you, your child or other family members could be identified by the donor or his relatives by a simple cheek swab or blood draw whether you intended to be discovered or not. If you want to remain anonymous, you must be aware of the possibility of identification. Coast to Coast does not work with donors or recipients who want a non-identified donation. Recipient parents are encouraged to be open with their children about their genetic origins prior to age 18.

Coast to Coast has measures in place to facilitate future contact and we regularly check in on sperm donors for medical and genetic updates and the donor’s contact information.

Depending on how much of the donated specimen is required for a recipient to attain a pregnancy, the vials may be frozen for future pregnancy attempts or to have additional children that are genetically related. Due to our agency policy of a six-family limit, recipients agree that any unused sperm is destroyed once a family completes his/her/their family unless otherwise agreed upon by all parties. It is not to be donated to other families.