**bostongaygal**

ssg73

I responded to your post below but I didn't know if you would see it so I am c/p it here

Hi

My wife and I are expecting our first in september.  We did iui to concieve with anonomous donor sperm.  We used Alternative Insemination of Greater Boston which is part of the midwives of mt auburn and located in Arlington.  We were very happy with them.  It took us 3 tries and we know a couple that it worked on the first try.

https://www.aicgb.com/info.html

On the insurance front.  Things are a little different then the pp have said.  It is true that there is mand coverage for infertility but if you are like us who had no diagnosed fertilty problems they do not cover until after 6 iuis.  I spoke to both my insur. and my wife's as we would have changed if one was better.  (harvard pilgrim and tufts)  I was told that of course I would be covered but if I was doing iui with donor sperm they require a special review and I would have to provide a sperm sample from my husband to verify that the reason we were using donor sperm was medical and logistical.  This is how they get around covering people with a blanket diagnosis of infertility.  Also donor sperm and sperm storage is never covered.

 Hope this helps

also over on the nest the same sex househould has a weekly ttc/pregnancy check in on wednesdays

https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/12305935.aspx

My wife and I have a blog which may give you some more info

darwinsmommies.blogspot.com

BostonGayGal

I have been reading your blog and love it! ?Thanks for all of the information. A have several more questions, ?but please feel free to ignore if you are annoyed by all of my questions . . .?

Did you guys get tested for cmv by AICGB? ?My understanding is that I need to use a cmv- donor unless I get tested for cmv, and that limits the amount of donors from which to choose. ?

When in the process did you do your consult with AICGB? I am thinking of starting inseminations sometime after July. ?I am taking my prenatals now, ad keep track of when I get my period, but the plan is to start charting when my next cycle begins. ? When should I be aiming to do the consult and then testing appointment?

What does the AICGB charge for sperm washing? - just wondering whether I should be looking to get pre-washed or not? ?And lastly, I know there are lots of banks. ?Did you use NECC - if so, how was the experience? Is there a particular reason you used (whichever) bank you did? ?

Thanks, for even reading this long list of questions. I appreciate it. ?And congrats!!

?

?

ssg73

Let's see

1.  I didn't get tested but they didn't say anything. I guess I should look at our donor and see what he is.  My understanding is that the majority of the pop has been exposed and it is not a prob.  They don't tell you to test your male partner if you are hetero and ttc and I have not heard of any problems that have been occuring with that (I could be wrong though).  If you are concerned get tested I am sure it is not that big a deal.

2.  We had a consult in Sept and could have started that month but I didn't ovulate(or missed it).  But we were planning on starting in oct anyway.  They told me since I had had my regular annual that year and was young and healthy that I didn't have to do the second visit.  I just had my medical records sent over from my primary care.  They told us not to chart but just use opks to determine the time of the iui.  Seemed to work for us.  As for sperm washing I don't know since we used the prewashed samples.  That is what they told us to get.  I do know that the price has gone up for iui since we got it done it was 180 I think and now it is like 200.  Totally a good price though.

3.  We used xytex for our bank.  We looked at them all and the reason we used them is that they had a 3 month plan where you could see all the info on all the donors for 160 bucks.  You could see the long profile and their adult and baby photos.  We really liked that we could look at everything all at once instead of making a list and then paying for the additional info later.  The pictures were important to us and wow sometimes the donors didn't look anything like we thought they would!  Our experience with them was great.  I actually made the purchase with their live chat option and was on the phone with my wife as we did it.  Which was nice.  The sperm arrived on time and safe.  I tracked the vials using dhl.  We did three at once since it saved on shipping.  We were on our last vial when we got pregnant.  Lucky us.

Glad you like the blog.  If you have anyother questions contact me through there as I am not on this board all that often and just happened to bump into your post.

BostonGayGal

Thanks!?

I think the reason they don't test straight couple's for cmv is that they would share it with one another prior to conception. But the risk is very low regardless.

IS IT SAFE TO USE A DONOR WHO IS POSITIVE FOR CMV?
You may wish to consult with your own medical practitioner as to whether he or she feels it is acceptable to use a donor who is positive for CMV IgG antibodies. Given our screening process, we presume that our donors who are positive for CMV IgG antibodies are non-infectious for CMV. Furthermore, our six-month quarantine policy ensures that should a donor test positive for a current or recent infection, we would destroy all his potentially infectious samples before they were ever released to recipients.WHAT DONORS MAY I USE IF I AM CMV NEGATIVE?

We would highly recommend that you use a CMV negative donor. However, you may use a CMV positive donor, if you wish. While the risk is not zero, the chance of transmitting congenital CMV to a developing fetus from semen used at the time of conception is extremely low. Based upon our experience and the published literature, we do not believe that a healthy donor who is antibody positive due to an old CMV infection poses any meaningful risk of transmitting CMV. This is, however, a medical issue that you should discuss with your physician.?