Got a question for Dr Dyke?  

My lover and I are planning to have a baby. How reliable are donor sperm banks? Do you know of any good fertility doctors in the Los Angeles area?

-- Pregnant Pause

While some lesbians opt to use sperm from a friend or relative, others may have concerns about legal or medical safety. There have been cases of sperm donors who originally said they did not want to have contact with the child, who then changed their minds and sued for custody. This is not a danger with banked donor sperm.

Sperm banks that are licensed by their state have to satisfy that state¹s requirements, but there is no national licensing board. However, the American Association of Tissue Banks provides accreditation to banks that adhere to stringent standards. Such banks do not release any fresh semen; they only release frozen semen after the donor has tested negative for HIV six months after his deposit.

Three banks that receive high marks from lesbian moms are Pacific Reproductive Services (www.hellobaby.com) in Pasadena and San Francisco, California; Cryobank (www.cryobank.com) in Los Angeles, California; and the bank at the University of Southern California. All three banks will ship to your home if you wish. Rainbow Flag Sperm Bank (www.gayspermbank.com) in Berkeley, California, banks semen from gay men and provides donor identification after the child¹s birth. However, they do not ship out of the San Francisco Area.

Any service¹s reliability ultimately depends on the likelihood of human error. I know of one woman who ordered Hispanic sperm and accidentally received semen from a blue-eyed blond. In another case, a couple seeking a full sibling for their daughter discovered the bank had inadvertently thawed all remaining sperm from their original donor without notifying the couple. Apparently the bank was not planning to notify them. Hopefully, such errors are rare.

The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (www.glma.org) maintains a referral list of gay and lesbian physicians. Either Pacific Reproductive Services or California Cryobank could give you the names of lesbian-friendly physicians in your area.

I also recommend a listserv for lesbian moms and mom wanna-bes: e-mail and put info-moms in the body of your message.

Good luck on your great endeavor!

Beth Brown is a family physician and author of numerous health articles and interactive columns for the queer press. Write to her c/o Girlfriends or e-mail .