European Sperm Bank

[MarieLondon26]

Has anyone used ESB lately?
I purchased two straws from them in Feb 2016 and they sent one straw below the required MOT (and contrary to their declaration on their website). Now they refuse to accept responsibility for selling sperm not properly tested and then sold on the market.
It worried me as I got this news after my egg removal and waiting for the clinic to create the embryos. ESB claims to be selling MOT20 but they do not expecting you to purchase multiple straws to cover themselves for lack of lab testing.
Now it has been confirmed by ESB that they don't have their own lab report to confirm the MOT for the donor (having asked my clinic to produce a report) and the facts stated for the donor on their website that he had previous pregnancies is false.
Has anyone come across the same behaviour from ESB?

[elt198]

Hi, I just found out the unit i bought from ESB was not suitable for IVF and had to resort to ICSI and signifanlt extra cost. My clinic advised me to query this with ESB which i am just going to do. How can they get away with selling something sub standard? i was going to ask my clinic to put something in writing for me. Would be good to know how you get on too.

[MarieLondon26]

Hi elt198
Your clinic can give you the report they run after obtaining the straw. This report will tell you the quality of the straw(s) you bought from ESB.
I raised the issue with ESB. Very defensive company. It is true they cannot provide a report of what they sell. I raised the issue with a lawyer in Denmark as well and the matter is still active.
I wonder who your donor was? Mine was Asker and apparently ESB did not know that the information on their website for this donor was not accurate as they claimed that he had previous pregnancies. After my IVF and as I started to investigate, I found out that thisthis donor did not have any reported pregnancies with the bank. He had a previous pregnancy with his girlfriend but it was terminated. ESB should have investigated why as there can be chromosomal issue with the donor. I told them to withdraw this donor as he is not safe.
Overall, ESB proved to be misleading and uncooperative.
I am in the legal field so I will be following up on this matter from a legal perspective, if required.
My clinic was recommended by ESB. I am now wondering if this is a scam so that they can sell more unverified low MOT sperm and for the clinic to make money too on repeat IVFs.
Let me know if this is helpful and also do let me know the name of the donor and when you purchased from ESB. You can email me if you don't want to post it here. What clinic did you use?

[elt198]

I bought it last autumn thorough direct contact, no referral. it was a different donor too. i assumed they tested the unit before sending it out otherwise how could they know it is up to standard? it was IUI so would have been processed and if no reason why they can't ensure it has the required density/count. i did wonder about legal issues as its not cheap. I might ask my clinic if they have come across this before and see what they say. they suggested i might be able to get some money back. they are a very well known clinic.

[MarieLondon26]

Hi elt198
Mine was also IUI. The ESB has no records to prove any tests were done for the MOT or the other viruses. If my matter goes to court, they will have to disclose all the reports for the donor and the process they engage to sell to the public the donor sperms. I can afford to go to court, its not a problem as I have good legal contacts in Denmark. I will also take this to the newspaper to show what can happen. There is a lot of interest in this matter to expose such scams.
The ESB may be well known but it takes only a big mistake to turn their business around and make them confirm to the norms for safety.
I am also taking action against my clinic as they proceeded with the IVF when they should not have and especially that they have not done all the required blood tests before putting me on expensive medication. Both embryos implanted were of no good quality and they should not have been transferred. You clinic should have given you the grading of the embryos before the transfer and advise you of their quality. They have the last judgment call if the embryos were any good to continue with the transfer.
You should have been given a photo of your embryos with the grading. Mine were fragmented and stopped dividing, but I did not know that at the time and relied on my clinic to provide advice before thetransfer. I was told that the embryos after two days in the lab were good enough to transfer. The bad embryos could have been an issue with the donor's sperm (chromosomal issues) form the bank, ESB, which was not properly tested and of no good MOT. I bought two straws.
Although ESB said they will replace the one straw, I question now their ethics and tests for the donor sperm they sell.
There are too many women out there who just take the sorrow for having a failed IVF and they do not question the entire IVF process which started with the consultation and medication they were put on. Your age also dictates to a clinic on what dosage to be put on and what to look for before proceeding with the egg retrieval and transfer. It is an entire science that we have to learn otherwise we are taken advantage by the clinics and the sperm banks.
In my case it has been proven to have been a scam. My clinic when questioned after the failed IVF lost the ability to respond to my emails in English.

[elt198]

all sounds very stressful. I've yet to go back to my clinic to discuss the whole process and how it worked for me so have that to look forward to. my 1 embryo was G2.5 so not good, not bad. no pic though. i'll get that though i guess if they wanted to they could show me any pic. i guess it all comes down to trust. must be difficult for you to move on with ivf now?

[elt198]

i just got feedback from my clinic and esb. the unit i bought was not below standard after all (?) which might sound ok but the fact remains that i was called shortly after egg collection/before fertilisation and was advised ICSI had to be done rather than basic IVf which ended up costing an extra 1K!!! and had to make this decision on the spot on the phone. least to say i am querying who actually called from the clinic and why they said it was low standard (when they are now saying it was not but it did added significant expense to my costs.....