Press Release: Free Banking

Business Journal of Tampa Bay
Friday, March 21, 2003

A local physician practice wants to help family-minded members of the military by freezing and storing their sperm for free.

The Florida Fertility Institute now offers free semen collection and storage services to Florida-based reservists, members of the military stationed in Florida and members of the military who return on leave or are rotated to Florida during the upcoming year.

"(We) felt like it would be a nice thing to be able to give some peace of mind to some of the ladies whose husbands are going overseas," said Dr. Mark Sanchez, associate director of the institute and a reproductive endocrinologist.

Military personnel stand to save approximately $1,200, which covers the initial cost of collection, analysis, cryopreservation and storage for up to three years.

The practice offers the collection and storage services at their Clearwater office at 2454 McMullen Booth Road, Suite 601.

The institute already provides care for patients at MacDill Air Force Base. In the past, the practice always suggested military personnel bank their sperm in case of a call-up, Sanchez said.

For more information on the Florida Fertility Institute Military Sperm Bank program click here.