Sperm and egg cryobank software that ties every vial to the donor eligibility file behind it

A sperm and egg cryobank is an establishment that recovers, screens, tests, stores and distributes reproductive cells, which the FDA regulates as HCT/Ps under 21 CFR Part 1271. The rules are specific. A donor eligibility determination is required for both the oocyte donor and the semen donor of an embryo, anonymous semen must be quarantined and the donor retested at least 6 months after donation, and records are kept for 10 years. Neurobird holds the donor, the vial and the release decision on one record.

neurobird / cryobank donor and vial record
3 / 5
requirements current
RequirementStatusNext due
DNR-2190, oocyte cohort, eligibility determined, releasedcurrentin 42d
VIAL-88412, quarantined, awaiting responsible person sign offdue soonin 9d
DNR-2214, anonymous semen, retest due in 11 dayscurrentin 120d
VIAL-88677, shipped to consignee, tracking entry closedoverdue3d late
VIAL-88677, shipped to consignee, tracking entry closedcurrentin 64d

Tick a requirement to file evidence against it.

Laboratory technician lifting a cane of cryopreserved straws out of a liquid nitrogen dewar, used to show the moment a unit has to be matched to the donor eligibility file that permits it to leave the building
The vial is easy to find. The file that lets it ship is the part that goes missing.
6 monthsbefore an anonymous semen donor is retested
10 yearsrecords must be retained after administration
7 dayswindow to collect the donor test specimen

Neurobird Sperm Egg Cryobank in short

  • Hold the donor screening, the test results and the eligibility determination as one dated file
  • Keep anonymous semen in quarantine until the retest at 6 months is actually complete
  • Print the accompanying summary of records with the vial rather than reassembling it later
  • 6 months Minimum interval after the date of donation before a new specimen must be collected from an anonymous semen donor and retested for every agent required at donation, with directed donors excepted. 21 CFR 1271.85
  • 10 years Retention period for records, counted at least 10 years after the date the HCT/P was administered, or after its distribution, disposition or expiration when the administration date is not known. 21 CFR 1271.270
  • Pricing runs 249 to 1650 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.

What sperm banks, egg banks and fertility laboratories actually deal with

The vial is in the tank and the eligibility summary that has to accompany it is in a folder on somebody's desktop.
A retest comes due on a donor whose units have already been quoted to a clinic, and nothing in the system said so.
Tracking from a consignee back to the donor takes an afternoon of phone calls because the code lives in three systems.

Why it stays broken

A cryobank is a laboratory, a warehouse and a distributor at once, and the regulation treats it as all three. Donor screening is clinical, quarantine and release are quality functions, and the tank is inventory, so the one thing that must stay joined, the vial and the eligibility record that lets it leave, is exactly the join that falls between three systems. Part 1271 is precise about what must accompany the unit and silent about the software that would hold it, so most banks run the join on a spreadsheet and a filing cabinet.

Under 21 CFR 1271.85, an anonymous semen donor must give a new specimen at least 6 months after the date of donation, and 1271.60 keeps that semen in quarantine until the retest is complete.

IVF is an ART procedure in which an egg is removed from a mature ovarian follicle and fertilized by a sperm cell outside the body.

womenshealth.va.gov, source

Neurobird Sperm Egg Cryobank Compliance Platform

One record per donor and one per vial: the screening review, the test panel and its dates, the eligibility determination and who made it, the quarantine state, the distinct identification code on the container, and the consignee the unit finally went to.

  • 1Hold the donor screening, the test results and the eligibility determination as one dated file
  • 2Keep anonymous semen in quarantine until the retest at 6 months is actually complete
  • 3Print the accompanying summary of records with the vial rather than reassembling it later
  • 4Track any unit from the donor to the consignee and from the consignee back to the donor

What changes with Neurobird Sperm Egg Cryobank?

The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.

Sperm egg cryobank: current practice compared with Neurobird Sperm Egg Cryobank
TodayWith Neurobird Sperm Egg Cryobank
The vial is in the tank and the eligibility summary that has to accompany it is in a folder on somebody's desktopHold the donor screening, the test results and the eligibility determination as one dated file
A retest comes due on a donor whose units have already been quoted to a clinic, and nothing in the system said soKeep anonymous semen in quarantine until the retest at 6 months is actually complete
Tracking from a consignee back to the donor takes an afternoon of phone calls because the code lives in three systemsPrint the accompanying summary of records with the vial rather than reassembling it later

Who is this for?

The same regulation, three different operations.

Donor sperm bank

You ship to clinics nationwide

Anonymous units, a quarantine period and a retest that decides whether the inventory is sellable. You need the 6 month clock attached to the vial, not to a technician's memory.

Egg bank

You work in cohorts

Oocyte donors carry a 30 day specimen window and a cohort that gets split between recipients. You need the eligibility file to follow every straw out of the cohort.

Fertility laboratory

You store for your own patients

Mostly autologous and partner units, which are excepted from the eligibility determination but not from the labeling. You need the exceptions applied correctly and printed on the label.

What the rules say about donor eligibility

The FDA subpart that governs reproductive donors, the testing and timing it imposes, and the records that have to travel with a unit once it is released.

6 months

Minimum interval after the date of donation before a new specimen must be collected from an anonymous semen donor and retested for every agent required at donation, with directed donors excepted.

21 CFR 1271.85
10 years

Retention period for records, counted at least 10 years after the date the HCT/P was administered, or after its distribution, disposition or expiration when the administration date is not known.

21 CFR 1271.270
7 days

Window around recovery for collecting the donor specimen used in testing, extended to 30 days before recovery for donors of oocytes, peripheral blood stem cells or bone marrow.

21 CFR 1271.80
5 agents

Communicable disease agents every donor specimen must be tested for: human immunodeficiency virus type 1, type 2, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and Treponema pallidum, with chlamydia and gonorrhea added for reproductive donors.

21 CFR 1271.85
5 days

Time an establishment has after beginning operations to register with the FDA and submit a list of every HCT/P it manufactures, with the registration updated annually in December.

21 CFR 1271.21
1271.290

The tracking section, which requires a system that runs from the donor to the consignee and from the consignee back to the donor, using a distinct identification code that carries no name, social security number or medical record number.

21 CFR 1271.290

How does Neurobird Sperm Egg Cryobank work?

  1. Open the donor

    Relevant medical records reviewed for the risk factors the rule names, the specimen collected inside the window the rule allows, and the testing laboratory recorded with its CLIA standing.

  2. Hold and release

    Units sit in quarantine, clearly distinguishable from released stock, until a responsible person has documented the eligibility determination and, for anonymous semen, the retest has come back.

  3. Ship with the file

    Each container carries its distinct identification code, the eligibility statement and the summary of records, and the tracking entry runs in both directions from the moment it leaves.

Sperm egg cryobank software questions, answered

Key terms

What is a sperm and egg cryobank required to do before releasing a unit?
Screen the donor by reviewing relevant medical records, test a specimen collected inside the window at 21 CFR 1271.80, and have a responsible person document an eligibility determination. Anonymous semen additionally stays in quarantine until the donor is retested at least 6 months after the donation.
What are the tests every donor has to have?
Under 21 CFR 1271.85 all donors are tested for human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and Treponema pallidum. Donors of reproductive cells are additionally tested for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhea unless the recovery method rules out genitourinary contamination.

How long do the records have to be kept?

At least 10 years, counted from the date the unit was administered. Where the administration date is unknown the clock runs from distribution, disposition or expiration, whichever is latest, so a unit that sits in a tank for years extends its own retention.

Does this replace our laboratory information system?

No. Testing stays where testing happens. This is the eligibility and release side: which donor a vial belongs to, what state it is in, who signed it out, and what has to accompany it when it ships.

Can it handle autologous and partner units?

Yes, and it treats them as the rule does. Those units are excepted from the eligibility determination under 21 CFR 1271.90 but still carry mandatory labeling, so the exception is recorded as an exception rather than as a missing file.

Why we are building this

We went looking for records that carry real consequences and are still kept by hand, and cryobanks kept coming up. A vial is worth a great deal, it cannot leave without a file, and in a lot of buildings that file is a folder and a spreadsheet standing between a tank and a clinic. That is a record problem, and record problems are what we build. The sections of Part 1271 we read while scoping this are linked above, so you can check our reading of them instead of taking our word for it. If we have a step wrong, tell us and we will fix it.

Neurobird Team neurobird.com

Where the requirement comes from

Primary sources, straight from the regulators.

How much does Neurobird Sperm Egg Cryobank cost?

Priced per establishment because registration, eligibility and tracking are all establishment level duties. Donors, vials and shipments are unlimited on every tier.

Single laboratory
$249
per month
  • One establishment
  • Unlimited donors
  • Vial inventory
  • Eligibility file
Request early access
Bank
$720
per month
  • Multiple storage sites
  • Quarantine and retest clocks
  • Consignee tracking
  • Label printing
Request early access
Network
$1,650
per month
  • Multi establishment view
  • Shared donor catalogue
  • Inspection export
  • Priority support
Request early access
Opening 8 early access places for sperm banks, egg banks and fertility laboratories.

Get free early access

Early access means we load your donor list, your tank inventory and your current release checklist before you type anything, and the account stays free while we do it.

Straight answer on where this is: The software is in development. Nothing is purchasable today. Early access means you shape it and pay nothing while we build.

Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.