Current status of semen banking in the USA

Anonymous donor sperm banking has been a fundamental aspect of reproductive medicine for several decades. In 1987, >170,000 women in the USA were treated for infertility using artificial insemination. Current estimates suggest that the number of women seeking treatment for infertility has increased markedly since that time; however, there are no accurate, updated data to indicate the magnitude of that increase. Most anonymous donor sperm banks in the USA can be categorized as one of three types based upon administrative structure: (i) physician practice based; (ii) hospital/clinic based; or (iii) commercial corporations. Of these it is estimated that the most common structures are the physician office and hospital/clinic based banks. However, the largest (i.e. those processing the most units) are the for-profit corporate banks. A survey conducted in 1989 found that there were at least 135 sperm banks operating in the USA. More recent information indicates the number of banks to be somewhere between 50 and 150. Guidelines for anonymous donor sperm banking practices have been established by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and standards have been established by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). The AATB has recently established an inspection and accreditation programme and six anonymous donor banks have been accredited in the last few years. It is anticipated that mandatory registration of all donor banks will be required by the FDA in the near future with mandatory inspection and accreditation to follow shortly thereafter.