Sperm bank

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A sperm bank is a facility that collects and stores human sperm from donors, primarily for the purposes of artificial insemination. The first two sperm banks were opened in Iowa City, USA and Tokyo, Japan in 1964.

Sperm banks also allow people to choose what characteristics they want their child or children to inherit, this is an example of selective breeding.

The sperm is stored in small vials or straws of holding between 0.4-1.0 ml and frozen in liquid nitrogen tanks. There is no shelf life on sperm and there have been cases with birth of healthy babies with sperm stored for more than 20 years.

In the United States sperm banks are regulated by the FDA with new guidelines in effect May 25, 2005. There are also regulation in different states including New York and California. Outside the US, the EU is working on similar regulations as the FDA.

Using anonymous donor sperm or known donors from a sperm bank is a safe alternative. Donors are constantly tested and monitored and all sperm is stored for a minimum of 6 months without being released for sale to ensure that the donor is healthy. Donors are subject to tests for diseases such as human immunoviruses HIV-1 and HIV-2, Human T cell lymphotropic viruses, HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Cystic fibrosis, Karyotyping 46, XY, and Spongiform Encephalopathy or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

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