One of the oldest banks of its kind in the United States, Xytex International, on Tuesday rolled out a stimulus package for customers who are hurting in these tough economic times.
Xytex is a sperm bank, and it's offering up to 200 dollars off a vial of sperm to clients wishing to start or add to their family, but need a little help.
"We're all feeling the effects of the economy and, especially for families seeking reproductive options, every dollar counts," Xytex spokeswoman Danielle Moores told AFP.
So, Xytex is offering deals on vials from "select" donors, who come a bit cheaper than the usual "standard" donor.
"Select donors are a new level of donor which we introduced to try to help our clients who are interested in third-party reproduction but, with the tough economy, are having a little bit of trouble purchasing a regular donor," Moores told AFP.
Select donors, explained Moores, are men from whom Xytex has "many, many vials because they're very successful donors or able to stop in several times a week or -- for whatever reason, we have a huge inventory," and it is being made available in a sort of clearance sale.
Xytex prefers to call it the balancing effect of supply and demand.
"Select donors haven't reached the end of their shelf-life, they're just over-produced," Moores said.
Select donor units run between 250 and 350 dollars, representing a savings of between 135 and 235 dollars on comparable vials from a standard Xytex donor, which start at 385 dollars and go up to 585 dollars.
Xytex is also offering deals on ART donors -- not as in Picasso or Jasper Johns but as in "assisted reproductive technology." These run between 290 and 390 dollars.
"These are vials that are available for patients who are undergoing either IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which can be very costly procedures," said Moores.
"For ICSI, you really only need one sperm which is injected into the egg. So we can offer these donors at a lower cost because there's a lower quality commitment, but it works for these patients because they need fewer cells anyway," Moores said.
"It's a way to offer another option at a slightly better price to help someone undergoing IVF or ICSI to have a family," she said, stressing that while prices have been cut, Xytex has not scrimped on its usual rigorous medical, psychological and genetic screenings for donors.
Copyright AFP 2008, AFP
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