Sperm Donation Process FAQs

Fairfax Cryobank has been the trusted source for donor sperm since 1986. As one of the largest sperm banks in the United States, we have helped thousands of families worldwide realize their dreams of having children.

None of this would be possible without the generous support and commitment of our sperm donors from across the US.

The Fairfax team is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. We also have other sperm donation locations in Philadelphia, Austin, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis / St. Paul, and Los Angeles. Our friendly sperm bank lab staff in all 7 locations look forward to working with each donor.

Sperm donors have stated that they are primarily driven both by the knowledge that they are helping people to have a family of their own, and the financial reimbursement we provide for donors’ time and effort. For more information, read some of our donor testimonials.

Sperm donor pay is in the form of a check once you are fully accepted into the donor program. Your donation location will give you more detail. Sperm donors are considered independent contractors and will receive a 1099 for tax purposes.
For more information on how much sperm donors are paid, visit our Sperm Donor Compensation page.

Your privacy is very important to us. All donor information is completely private. Online applications are submitted through our secure website directly to your local facility, and we do not share your information with outside parties. Donor files are numerically coded to assure privacy. Access to files is restricted.

Donors need to be within commuting distance to one of our local sperm banks because they will be visiting the clinic weekly once accepted into the program. Specimens must be collected on-site.

We have several sperm bank locations across the United States, including Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, Austin, TX, Houston, TX, Miami, FL, Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN, Los Angeles, CA.

Donors are asked to commit to approximately 6 months, producing one sample per week.
The minimum commitment is required so we have enough specimens to compensate for the expense of the medical testing involved. The majority of donors choose to and are allowed to continue donating past the minimum contract.

The first step is to complete the simple online application. Your application will be reviewed and we will contact you via email to inform you whether or not you have been selected to continue the donor screening process.
For more information, please see the steps to becoming a donor page.

Applications are reviewed on a regular basis. Potential donors can expect a response within one week after submitting the online application. If you have not heard from your local facility within a week, please email your nearest sperm bank location.

The sperm donation application process may take a couple weeks. Applicants should expect to spend around an one hour filling out the medical questionnaire and one hour for the interview. Up to four appointments may be scheduled with your local facility for semen evaluation. An initial blood draw and physical will also need to be scheduled before final approval.

Yes; you will complete a general health physical, infectious and genetic testing. While in the program donors will have routine free infectious/STD testing as well as physicals every 6 months

Specimens are produced by self-masturbation in private collection rooms. Literature is provided for donors. Donors are always welcome to bring personal laptops or music players with headphones. Most facilities offer a television and videos in at least one of the donor rooms.
For tips and tricks to improve your sperm production quality, visit our Tips page.

Sperm donors typically donate once a week, but it is possible to donate twice a week depending on the number of abstinence hours you need for a good sample.

The specimens are used by families around the globe to fulfill their dream of having children.

The men who participate in our sperm donor program are not known to the person purchasing their donor sperm. Agreements for the purchase and use of donor sperm are made between Fairfax Cryobank and our clients; no agreement links the donor and recipient directly.

Our donors sign a donor agreement, a legal document, waiving all parental rights and responsibilities to children conceived from their sperm. By signing, donors assume no responsibility or liability for any offspring conceived through donor semen; donors will have no rights to any offspring conceived.

Our testing is not a reflection of whether or not you can have a child, but rather whether your specimen can withstand our processing procedures. In order to provide the best quality product to clients, we need men who produce high quality sperm. Men who fall into the normal range typically do not make it into our program. If we see anything that may impact an applicant’s ability to conceive children when we are performing our evaluation, we immediately notify him and refer him to a specialist.

If you or a family member participate in a commercial genetic testing kit and opt into connections made through their database, you can be identified by recipients who test their children or by the children when they reach the age of consent and do the testing. This does not prohibit you from being part of the donor program.