Infertility and Assisted Reproduction Information

This page gives information about sperm banks, artificial insemination, IVF (in-vitro fertilization), ovum donation, surrogacy, and other assisted reproduction techniques, and gives links to web sites related to these techniques. Links to commercial providers of mainstream techniques, such as sperm banks, IVF centers, ovum donation programs, and surrogate mother services are provided, as well as links to various organizations with interest in these mainstream techniques. The emergence of the new reproductive technologies has created complex legal issues and this page provides links to legal firms specializing in law governing assisted reproduction. A list of books about reproductive techniques is also given. This page concludes with a brief discussion of experimental and speculative techniques, such as human cloning, and contains links to pages discussing these techniques.

Please read our disclaimer, which discusses possible inaccuracies in this web page.


Mainstream Assisted Reproduction Techniques

The techniques we discuss here are in wide use and are widely agreed by the medical community to be safe, effective, and routine. We discuss these techniques: artificial insemination and sperm banks, IVF (in-vitro fertilization), ovum donation, and surrogate mothers. Various organizations and other links are also given. We also discuss legal issues and provide links to law firms specializing in law governing assisted reproduction. Finally, we give a list of books.

Artificial Insemination and Sperm Banks

Artificial insemination is the insertion of sperm into a woman's vagina to cause pregnancy using a method other than sexual intercourse. Women with infertile husbands, single women, and lesbian couples often resort to artifical insemination in order to become pregnant.

Commercial sperm banks sell vials of frozen sperm for use in artificial insemination. Many sperm banks can ship frozen sperm worldwide. Most sperm banks recruit university students to be sperm donors and screen the sperm donors for a variety of infectious and genetic conditions, including HIV (the virus which causes AIDS). Most sperm banks prevent sperm donors and recipients from ever knowing each other's identities. A few sperm banks have "willing-to-be-known" sperm donors, whose identities become available after some time.

Here are some of the major sperm banks which ship sperm worldwide:

You can find many more sperm banks by searching for "sperm bank" using a search engine. Also, many phone books' yellow pages contain listings under "sperm bank".

Finally, a word about genius sperm banks. Genius sperm banks claim to select only sperm donors with extremely high intelligence and outstanding achievements. Click here for information on these genius sperm banks.

Ovum Donation and Surrogate Mothers

The following organizations are involved with ovum donation and/or surrogacy:

The following commercial providers are involved with ovum donation and/or surrogacy:

Legal Issues and Law Firms

The following legal firms specialize in issues related to sperm banks and assisted reproduction:

Helpful Organizations and Other Links

The following organizations might provide useful information and assistance:


Experimental and Speculative Techniques

The techniques we discuss here either have never been used successfully in humans or are considered unsafe, unreliable, or experimental.

Human Cloning

Cloning is the production of an exact genetic copy of a parent individual. As far as the authors are aware, no human has ever been successfully cloned, although there have been numerous reports of scientists successfully cloning other mammals. The following cloning links are interesting:


Disclaimer

We provide this information in the hope that it will be helpful, but we give absolutely no assurance that the information is accurate, or that the providers and organizations listed are competent or ethical, or that the links provided are accurate. Any action which you take based on the information provided in this page is at your own risk. Also, please note that we have no formal medical or legal training, and we therefore advise you to consult a licensed physician before undertaking any of the procedures discussed herein.