For Sam Henrichs, finding customers isnt nearly as hard as finding suppliers.


Thats why Henrichs, who owns Spokane sperm bank N.W. Andrology & Cyrobank Inc., gets a twinkle in his eye at the thought of opening a branch office in Pullman where thousands of college men at Washington State University and the nearby University of Idaho might be able to provide the 18-year-old company with inventory.


N.W. Andrology sells the sperm it collects directly to couples who are trying to conceive children. Demand has been so high, Henrichs asserts, that hes had to turn away new customers who are seeking sperm.


We do have a product shortage, he says. Were still serving our existing customers.


Henrichs hopes to open a Pullman lab this fall. He says he still needs to find a location there, hire and train a small staff, and get all of the legal paperwork in order.


We could be doing a lot more business, he says. The biggest thing holding us back is the lack of suitable donors.


Already, Henrichs believes he has struck gold with a business that has produced thousands of children for people who cant conceive on their own. He declines, however, to disclose the companys revenues or profits.


Our sales are in the millions, says Henrichs. They have doubled every year for the last couple years. Were up 25 percent from last year.


N.W. Andrology, which has an office and laboratory here at 508 W. Sixth and a lab in Missoula, Mont., sells sperm to couples nationwide, and even a few abroad, he says.


For some reason we do a lot of business in Texas and Florida, Henrichs says. Only 5 percent of my business is in this area.


N.W. Andrologys customers usually are referred by doctors, but its Web site also is a source of new business, Henrichs says.


Henrichs founded the company in 1986 in Missoula, and moved it here in 1994 so he could be closer to family. He came up with the idea for the business while earning a cellular and molecular biology degree at the University of Montana.


N.W. Andrology employs seven people at its two locations, including a medical doctor and two scientists.


The company also stores frozen sperm for people who might want to conceive a child with their own sperm later. It charges between $150 and $200 a year for that storage. It sells pregnancy and ovulation test kits. And it helps recruit egg donors for another Spokane company, the Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Fertility, which pays donors $2,500 for eggs. For that, N.W. Andrology earns a commission.


Sperm is expensive. Henrichs says an average couple that uses a sperm bank spends between $500 and $750 a month in sperm purchases when trying to conceive. One vial of frozen sperm sells for $180, plus shipping, though volume discounts are available.


The sperm is shipped in special metal containers called dry nitrogen dewars. The containers keep sperm frozen for up to 18 days.


The donors


Sperm donors remain anonymous and arent legally responsible for any children conceived from their sperm, Henrichs says.


College students represent the bulk of the donors at both N.W. Andrology locations.


We rely on college guys, Henrichs says. But we have a range of donors from doctors to janitors.


Money is a motivating factor for college students, but there can be other reasons for donating, he says. When asked, 95 percent of them say they want to help people, Henrichs says. They say its like donating blood.


The company pays donors between $30 and $60 for each donation. Henrichs says the quality of the sperm determines the price.


They have to be packing the goods, he says. Volume, number of sperm, motility, and morphology are just some of the factors we look at. Motility refers to how active the sperm is and how quickly it moves.


A donors physical attributes, education, and interests are included on a profile thats used by customers to select a donor.


Customers can choose a donor based on race, ethnicity, hair color, eye color, height, weight, and other personal information such as hobbies and favorite activities. Most people want 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2 with blonde hair and blue eyes, he says. But really it varies as much as people do.


Testing sperm


The company has a rigorous application process for potential sperm donors. The clinic only accepts men between the ages 18 and 35.


The first time a potential donor shows up to provide sperm, he isnt paid for the donation. Instead, his sample is tested for sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and Herpes, as well as for overall quality and genetic abnormalities. The donor also must fill out a medical and sexually history questionnaire.


It takes up to six weeks before the donor is notified that he can become a paid donor. After that, he doesnt have to go through the same screening process to make a donation and be paid.


A lot try out, only a few make the cut, he says. We accept less than 10 percent of the people who want to be donors.


Each sample must have a minimum of 20 million sperm to be considered suitable for selling. Henrichs says the range is between 20 million and 250 million sperm in each sample.


The company determines the number of healthy sperm compared with the number of dead or deformed sperm. The sample also is given a cystic fibrosis mutation analysis, and depending on the donors history, analyses for sickle cell anemia, and Tay-Sachs, a malady of the central nervous system.


Potential donors also are given a basic medical evaluation by a doctor or nurse at the clinic. Men can be disqualified if their family members have had genetically-linked diseases like diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. A donor also can be disqualified for having had too many sexual partners or having engaged in risky sexual behavior.


All sperm sold to couples is thoroughly tested for diseases, quality, and genetic abnormalities.


Getting pregnant


The sperm N.W. Andrology collects is frozen with a special protecting fluid that keeps the sperm healthy and alive. The sperm needs to be thawed before use, then can be inserted into a woman by a partner or by a doctor.


Henrichs says customers usually start by trying to conceive in the privacy of their own homes during ovulation. Its more personal that way, he says.


In such intra-cervical insemination, the sperm is inserted directly into a womans vagina with a syringe or catheter.


For intrauterine insemination, a doctor or a nurse practitioner puts the sperm, which has undergone a washing process to eliminate the seminal fluid, directly into a womans uterus. The sperm is washed because it contains prostaglandins which can cause a uterus to contract, which can be very painful.


The company doesnt have data on its success rate because customers dont always report back to the clinic, Henrichs says. We have thousands of customers. Sometimes theyll give up, or maybe theyll get pregnant and they wont tell us.


Of the last 322 pregnancies reported to the clinic, it took an average of between three and four months to conceive. Henrichs says the success rates for each method are similar but nothing is guaranteed.


It can happen on the first try, or it can never happen, he says. Its impossible to predict.


Sperm-bank stigmas


Many of the societal stigmas surrounding sperm banks are slowly evaporating, Henrichs says. Customers and donors used to slink into sperm banks because they were afraid of being seen, says Henrichs.


I used to get a lot more angry phones calls from people saying, I shouldnt play God. Or Quit trying to create a master race, says Henrichs. Now its more out in the open.


People who have children send Henrichs photographs of them, which he displays in the office and on the companys Web site.


You would be amazed how often the children look like their parents, he says. Its all part of the genetic crapshoot.


Even though sperm banks appear to be gaining acceptance, there are still some reservations about them. The companys print advertising campaign geared toward college males ruffled some feathers last year. The Inlander told me that my ads received the most complaints ever, he says. Were working on some new ones.


There are some concerns about using a sperm bank, Henrichs says. People are afraid of having a horror story and ending up on Oprah. But its not going to happen.


The company protects itself in a number of ways, including by carrying liability insurance and by using donors only for six to eight months, or 10 confirmed pregnancies. This limits the potential effects of errors in testing and shipping. It also avoids sending the sperm of a donor to a customer in the same city.


People think that children from the same donor will somehow get together, and have children, Henrichs says. Its next to impossible. It wont happen.


In casual conversation, people have a hard time believing Henrichs operates a sperm bank. They either dont believe me, or they dont say much, or they will ask me 20 questions, he says. Sometimes Ill just say I am a banker.