History and Perspective of Assisted Reproduction from Living Fertility Legend Dr. Cappy Rothman

Written By Lora Shahine, MD

Building a family with donor sperm is more common today than ever before. In this episode of Baby or Bust, Dr. Lora Shahine meets with the father of modern sperm donation, Dr. Cappy Rothman, who explores the past, present, and future of the sperm donation process.

As the co-founder of California Cryobank, the world's largest sperm bank, Dr. Rothman has been at the forefront of assisted reproduction since its inception. Dr. Shahine and Dr. Rothman dig into the history of sperm banking (spoiler alert: The concept wasn't well-received when first shared in the 1950s) and his advocacy for sperm bank access for couples experiencing infertility. The episode also touches upon 23andMe and Ancestry.com's implications with donor anonymity, what people generally want in a donor, the information captured by sperm banks, and much, much more.

You can learn more about Dr. Rothman here

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Lora Shahine, MD

Dr. Lora Shahine, reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, completed her residency in OBGYN at the University of California in San Francisco and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Stanford University. She is dedicated to educating and advocating for increased awareness of infertility, miscarriage, and the impact on environmental toxins on health through an active social media presence, teaching, clinical research, and authoring multiple blogs and books including best selling, ‘Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.’

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Environmental Toxins and Reproduction Health: Potential Countdown to Human Extinction with Dr. Shanna Swan
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Sperm Donation: Myths vs. Reality from a Sperm Donor