FCC Fertility Blog

Starting as early as their teenage years, most women hear about the concept of having a “biological clock,” but men aren’t pressured in the same way from both a societal and medical perspective. In recent years, more studies have been performed in order to ascertain whether men have a biological clock like women do. If they do, does the man’s age matter when he conceives children?

Proving that the male biological clock exists

Using donated sperm to help build your family is a popular route for same-sex female couples, single women and couples who experienced previously-unsuccessful infertility treatment. Many people understand the gist of sperm donation, but they do not know how the process works from start to finish.

At the Fertility Center of California, we want couples and individuals who have chosen sperm donation to feel confident in their decision and to know what to expect as they begin this route to parenthood. 

The decision to use a sperm donor to help build your family is an important step for couples and single parents alike. For some, the need for a sperm donor was expected as they are an LGBT couple or a woman wishing to pursue parenthood on her own. For others, needing to use a sperm donor may have come as a surprise because of an unexpected infertility diagnosis.

Despite that the Zika virus may no longer dominate the news cycle as it did last summer, the condition remains a very serious concern in the United States as well as in those countries where outbreaks remain present.

Until you and your partner are faced with a potential infertility diagnosis, the idea of using a sperm donor to have a baby likely didn’t cross your mind. However, using a sperm donor is not uncommon: one in eight couples struggle to conceive without reproductive care. 

The Fertility Center of California (FCC) welcomes and supports growing families of all shapes and sizes, and the LGBTQ+ community is certainly no exception. Sperm donation services are essential for same-sex female couples planning to have a baby either through intrauterine insemination (IUI) or via in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Because male fertility is not as directly affected by age as female fertility, efforts to preserve or “save” male fertility often go unnoticed. Male fertility preservation may not be essential for every man who hopes to build his family in the future, but there are certain candidates for which the procedure would be greatly beneficial -- they may just be unaware that they have that option.

One of the first steps taken for any patient of the Fertility Center of California (FCC) is a semen analysis. If a fertility issue is suspected for any reason, a semen analysis is conducted to evaluate sperm quality. 

Sperm counts can vary significantly between one submission and another, so two or three semen analyses are typically conducted in order to make a final diagnosis. Patients should keep in mind that they will need to abstain from ejaculation for two to five days before the screening.

When using a sperm donor to build your family, there are important decisions to make regarding the sperm bank you will use, what type of sperm donor you will use, the qualities you are searching for in a donor, and how to search for your ideal candidate. This process may seem overwhelming, but for those couples and individuals who use third-party reproduction services to have a baby, the process is made simple by working with a qualified sperm bank with a stellar reputation and qualified, experienced leadership.

What should I look for in a sperm bank?

You might be surprised to learn that not every man is qualified to become a sperm donor. Sperm donor programs like the one at the Fertility Center of California (FCC) have donor requirements and pre-donation screening protocols, and not everyone who applies meets these standards. There are a few different factors that could disqualify a potential sperm donor from joining FCC’s donor program, some of which are surprising to those who apply to donate.