How to Qualify as a Sperm Donor

Please review all of the following information.
Please avoid calling for information, all required details are here online.
Online Application ~ Screening Process

Do I Qualify?

We welcome men of all ethnicities and backgrounds as donors. You are eligible to start the donor screening process if you meet the following requirements:

  • You are between the ages of 18 and 39 and are at least 5 feet 7 inches
  • You are able to make a one-year commitment to the program (equals 2 semesters for students)
  • You are a high school graduate and live within 25 miles of our downtown office
  • You can work legally in the United States
  • You can provide medical information about both sides of your biological family
    [Read more about the importance of family health history]
  • You can visit us at least once a week, during business hours
  • You have no chronic health problems
  • You have completed or are pursuing a college degree

In order to comply with tissue bank licensing regulations, we cannot accept donor applicants who have been exposed to or infected with HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HTLV, syphilis, genital herpes, or genital warts.

The Donor Screening Process

In order to become a donor, you will need to complete the screening steps outlined below.

STEP ONE: Application

Complete our online application.  We will contact you to let you know whether or not  your application has been accepted. Please allow up to 2 weeks for a response.

STEP TWO: Intake Interview

If your application is preliminarily accepted, you will be contacted by our Donor Coordinator to set up an Intake Interview at our Berkeley location.  This interview is similar to a job interview, so you should approach it as you would any job interview.

The screening interview will take approximately 30 minutes during which you will have a chance to ask questions about the program. You will also be asked a number of questions about yourself. Be prepared to answer detailed questions about your personal and family health history and to describe what motivated you to become a sperm donor. At the conclusion of the interview, you will be offered a token thank you gift from TSBC.

You will be contacted within one week of the Intake Interview to advise you whether or not you have been accepted to continue.  If you have been accepted, you will be offered a future appointment to leave a sperm sample for testing.  After two test samples are evaluated, you will be advised whether you may move into the Screening & Testing Phase (see below). 

STEP THREE: Screening & Testing

During the 8 week Screening & Testing Phase donor applicants are expected to make once a week appointments in the lab to leave a sperm sample. When you visit our lab, you will provide a semen sample by masturbating alone in a comfortable, private room. To have the best chance of providing a usable (high sperm count) sample, you need to abstain from ejaculating for 72 hours before providing each sample. You'll get the best results by abstaining for at least 3 days.

In addition to producing one sample a week, other steps during this phase include the following:

You are not paid during the Screening and Testing phase, but if you are accepted as a donor, you will be paid retroactively for all samples we are able to save from the screening period.  Read More

STEP FOUR: Contract Signing

If you are approved, you will sign a contract that commits you to our program for a period of six months to one year (although this is somewhat flexible). You will also commit to visiting the sperm bank at least once a week. You may schedule more frequently if your schedule permits. When you sign a contract, we will pay you for usable samples provided during the screening period. After that, you will be paid monthly for your usable samples. Once you are approved as a donor, you will have quarterly blood draws and biannual physical exams, all of which are paid for by TSBC.

STEP FIVE: Exit STD Testing

In accordance with federal and state regulations, all TSBC program donors’ samples are quarantined for 6 months. You will be required to return to our offices for a final blood test 6 months after your last collection appointment. Program donors receive a $500 bonus payment after the exit blood testing.

Legal Issues

California Family Code states that sperm donors are not considered the legal fathers of any children conceived from their sperm when donated through a sperm donation program. You have no legal or financial responsibilities for any offspring born from your sperm donations through TSBC, nor do you have any parental rights. Furthermore, when you are approved as a donor, you will sign a contract that explicitly protects your privacy.