UIC in the News

Hospital offers free banking for reservists

February 5, 2003

by Carol Mattar

Enlisted men and reservists being deployed to war zones are leaving something behind: sperm samples.

When she got the first call from a reservist, Mary Coppolillo, coordinator of UIC’s sperm banking program, realized what a good idea he had.

Coppolillo now wants to alert other men who face deployment to areas where they may come into contact with chemical agents that could render them infertile or affect the children they father after returning.

As a patriotic gesture, she says, UIC is waiving the first year’s storage fee of $200 for men being deployed. They will pay only the $100 processing and freezing cost, plus an additional $25 if they use the sperm bank’s OverNiteMale™ service.

OverNiteMale™ allows men to produce samples for cryopreservation or testing at home, then FedEx them to UIC in a special kit.

Coppolillo says she already has been contacted by a reservist in Texas who found the information on the Web site.

Coppolillo advises men within driving distance to come in to the sperm bank, however, because the preservation medium in the OverNiteMale™ kit can cause about a 10 percent loss of motile sperm.

Several reservists have visited the sperm bank in the last two weeks, and she is getting more calls every day, Coppolillo says.

For information about sperm banking or to make an appointment, call 996-7713.