potrero view
Photo by Greg Thomas

Photo by Greg Thomas

Lab technician at Pacific Reproductive Services.

November 2009

Potrero Hill Sperm Bank Quietly Celebrates a Quarter Century of Births

By Lori Higa

Behind a non-descript door in a DeHaro Street office building are the sparkling, currently under expansion, digs of Pacific Reproductive Services, Fertility Center & Sperm Bank (PRS), which celebrates its 25th year in business this year.  Founded by longtime Wisconsin Street resident and lesbian health care activist Sherron Mills, a nurse practitioner (NP), PRS has the distinction of being the nation’s largest sperm bank with “willing to be known” (WTBK)  donors. WTBK sperm donors contractually agree to meet their biological issue at least once when the child reaches the age of 18, though only if the child so desires.  Women seeking artificial insemination increasingly want WTBK donors because of the belief that it’s better for children to know about their biological heritage.  The trend is most pronounced in the lesbian community, as  “most straight couples opt for anonymous donors,” said PRS communications director Maureen Oddone.  

Founded in 1984, PRS carved a niche for itself by catering primarily to lesbians and single aspiring mothers, while also serving straight couples and singles of all orientations.  After co-founding the renowned Lyon-Martin Women’s Health Clinic in the early 1980s with Dr. Patricia Robertson – who is now at the University of California San Francisco’s Lesbian Health Research Center – Mills approached the clinic’s board to start a sperm bank for lesbians who were having difficulty finding physicians to perform artificial inseminations. “There was no support for lesbians or from sperm banks,” Mills recalled. The board wasn’t comfortable with the issue, so Mills decided to do it herself, investing her own money in a start-up. Mills was already working with a group of physicians in private practice in Pacific Heights as a NP specializing in women’s health, and had already begun donor recruitment.  

According to Oddone, “the sperm banking field is one of the most heavily regulated, despite all the misinformation spread by the media.”  PRS is required to hold a tissue bank permit to be licensed by the State of California.  All of its sperm donations are frozen, a Federal Drug Administration requirement.  Donor sperm is kept in vials by the thousands in shiny, stainless steel, five-foot high tanks cooled by liquid nitrogen.  

PRS subjects its donors to some of the most rigorous and stringent genetics and disease testing in the industry. “Only about one out of 12 donor applicants are accepted,” said Lisa Ferretti, director of donor services for PRS and a minority partner in the business.  Each donor provides blood and semen samples, which are given a battery of genetic and infectious disease tests, including for Fragile X Syndrome, the leading cause of mental retardation, spinal muscular atrophy, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, hepatitis, and a number of conditions known to  affect people of  Jewish heritage, such as Tay-Sachs. Donations are quarantined for six months before being released, said Ferretti, and re-tested at regular intervals.  Mills has also instituted a system of double and triple-checking everything, using state-of-the-art technologies, such as electronic fingerprinting of donors, to prevent identification errors.

Through the years PRS has assisted in more than 3,000 births. Noting the fact that the number of same-sex female couples raising children is estimated by the U.S. Census to have jumped by about 50 percent from 1990 to the present, Mills said that although some percentage of that growth is doubtless related to a greater willingness to reveal sexual orientation, “there is no question that we are in the midst of a lesbian baby boom.”  And the current recession hasn’t put a damper on demand.  PRS is in the process of doubling the size of its space – from roughly 2,400 square feet to 4,000 square feet – to house support staff, including lab technicians, nurse practitioners, women’s health specialists, and genetics consultants.  Also on-site are administrative offices, a laboratory, medical examination and conference rooms, sperm bank storage chambers and donor lounges.  While PRS is expanding its Potrero Hill facility, and has a Southern California office, it’s not planning to open other locations due to high overhead costs, although it’s considering enlarging its base by recruiting donors in New York City.  

Despite the increased acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and alternative family structures in recent years, the backlash to the marriage equality movement and legislation by vociferous homophobic groups have exposed the barriers that still exist for lesbians seeking to become mothers.  “The biggest problem facing lesbians – and to a lesser but still significant degree for all women who are not married – is  lack of access to truly supportive artificial insemination and fertility  services outside our major metropolitan areas,” Mills said. “The degree of prejudice is still quite high among health care providers.  That’s why we make it a priority to provide a safe, comfortable environment for all seeking these services.”  PRS was an early pioneer in shipping sperm to lesbians and other women, as well as providing ongoing assistance until pregnancy is achieved.  The internet has also helped break down barriers to donor insemination:  sperm can be ordered, and supportive providers identified, via the web.

The internet is a key promotional vehicle for PRS, which advertises on Google and lesbian web sites, in addition to social networking sites such as FaceBook, Yahoo! and lesbian print and online magazines.  Oddone also pursues marketing at women-focused events, such as festivals and women’s weekends. Many clients find PRS through word of mouth and physician referrals.  

PRS is the Bay Area’s only sperm bank that offers insemination, limited fertility services, counseling and referrals.  PRS also collects, freezes and stores sperm for men who will undergo treatments, such as chemotherapy or surgery, which may reduce their fertility, as well as for clients who may want additional children from the same donors in the future.  Oddone is especially excited about PRS’ latest offering for prospective moms:  videos of donors will soon be available for purchase and download from its web site.


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