California vs Fairfax

HollyAndAsh · September 2014

We are in the midst of picking out our donor sperm for our upcoming insemination. Any opinions on Fairfax Cryobank or California Cryobank? Fairfax has some very cost effective vials available, but was wondering if anyone has any profound reasons why we shouldn't use them? Why we should pay the $180 more per vial at California?

babyimp · September 2014

I've been looking around but I found that Cali has more diversity in terms of bi/multi racial donors. Which we prefer since we are multiracial. Even though they are more expensive, for us, they have more choices in what we are seeking.

mrs&mrsk · September 2014

we had the same impression- we couldn't find a Caucasian with brown hair & brown eyes that was of italian descent with any other agency than California Cryo. Except those mixed with Asian, etc descents.

Himee33 · September 2014

Same reason as @TwoMomsInTX‌ on why we went to Fairfax. We did a ton of research. We found a place and donor we LOVED but our clinic wouldn't use them. Looked at California and even though they have a ton of donors, they didn't have adult pictures and when we narrowed down our search, we weren't left with anyone we really liked. We then went to Fairfax and found our guy. Not sure how California operates but what we liked at Fairfax was when we bought 7 vials we got 1 free plus free storage for 2 years. We used 3 and ordered more and still got another 1 free. Also if you don't get pregnant by the 3rd vial you get one free. It's nice to know our remaining 8 are in free storage. Customer service has been great. We did everything through a chat room online. In the end we found a 6'7, educated and athletic donor who is also really handsome

HollyAndAsh · September 2014

Thank you for all of the responses! We are debating now whether or not to see the childhood/adult pictures. Why should that matter? (I know it should, but to me I just don't see why it would)

Himee33 · September 2014

Totally agree @TwoMomsInTX‌! We wanted someone attractive also. We also wanted someone who looked similar to L. The donor we picked looks like he could be L's brother. There were many adorable infants and teens, but when we got to the adult pictures, we had to pass. We also made a book with all the information and donor pictures in it, so our children can read all about him and see what he looks like. We also picked a donor so our children have the option to meet him when they turn 18. Also through the Fairfax forum we have already met some couples that are pregnant or trying with our donor. That part I think is cool and weird at the same time to know our unborn children already have siblings.

I think it just comes does to what you and your wife want and what matters most. Seeing pictures was really important to us, but not as important as family health records and matching eye color and hair. Good luck!

mrs&mrsk · September 2014

re: pix - we were torn between two until we saw the child pix. we felt one looked more like DW. Adult pix would have been nice- i didnt realize any places did that as it is kind of a breach of privacy? Anyway California cryo gives 2-3 celeb look a likes and if you call will tell you which features they think come from each. i also like that they have the bulletin board to talk to other donor users & the sibling registry.

Anyone know much about their cord blood services? i keep getting emails about the pricing. seems pretty good and we are considering. i should probably start another thread....

ball.and.chain · September 2014

@mrs&mrsk - my personal opinion is that private cord blood banking is a scam. The likelihood of your kid being able to use their own cord blood is so tiny. But definitely worth another thread as I am sure people disagree with me!

mrs&mrsk · September 2014

ball.and.chain said:

@mrs&mrsk - my personal opinion is that private cord blood banking is a scam. The likelihood of your kid being able to use their own cord blood is so tiny. But definitely worth another thread as I am sure people disagree with me!

my friends did it at the hospital, not sure if it was through a private company but it cost them about $1000 plus yearly storage. the cryo is saying it would be about $300 plus storage. seems like a good deal- IF LEGIT? thanks i'm going to start a new thread!

HollyAndAsh · September 2014

We wound up choosing Fairfax. To us we didn't really have too much "criteria". Honestly, I don't think we had any criteria. We could have picked out someone that looked just like my partner, but that doesn't mean the baby would have looked like either of us. We were happy with our decision, and the staff at Fairfax were very pleasant today.

I had it done last night, but a reference point in case someone comes across this is to be sure to have your "Terms of Use" filled out and uploaded or you can't order. It is part of your account Fairfax.

Thanks to everyone for your responses! Best of luck to all of us!

wishiwaspreggo · September 2014

HollyAndAsh said:

Thank you for all of the responses! We are debating now whether or not to see the childhood/adult pictures. Why should that matter? (I know it should, but to me I just don't see why it would)

We went with Fairfax and did the lifetime photos with open ID option. It made a big difference for us to know what our donor looks like as an adult. It'll be neat to see how he develops and what similarities, physically, he'll have to his donor and to me as his bio parent. Plus I want my kid to know everything he possibly can about his history (medical and otherwise) and have the opportunity to contact the man who helped make his life feasible.

We've also connected with other moms who used the same donor. I'm glad we did that because now we have our own Facebook group and can see each other's babies. All those boys are my baby's half-brothers and I want them to know each other.

cetcar2013 · October 2014

Jumping in.....thanks for sharing all of your experiences. We're just starting to look in to different banks so this is helpful info.

California vs Fairfax

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