Sperm freezing allows long term storage and later use of your spermatozoa.
WHO NEEDS SPERM FREEZING?
- Men or teenage boys who are about to undergo a treatment toxic to their spermatozoa. In most cases this is chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In 2018 the Center for Assisted Reproduction, governmental body providing funding for IVF, started funding egg freezing for medical reasons, as well as the subsequent IVF procedure. The purpose of this new policy is to allow women below 35, diagnosed with cancer, to preserve their fertility following chemo/radiotherapy. Unfortunately, the government does not fund sperm freezing for men with cancer. In spite of this, men must be informed of the option for fertility preservation well in advance of the start of their chemo/radiotherapy.
Men/teenage boys who are about to undergo pelvic or testicular surgery should also be advised to freeze sperm for the purpose of fertility preservation. The same is true for men, whose jobs could negatively influence their sperm quality (e.g. exposure to heavy metals, irradiation or high temperature).
- Men who will be absent/ abroad on the day of the IVF procedure. Whether due to work or other commitments, sometimes the male partner cannot be present on the day of the procedure. In such cases, having frozen specimen(s) is the only way to do the procedure. It is important to know that fresh sperm is always better than frozen due to the fact that some of the spermatozoa do not survive the freezing process. Therefore, frozen material is used only when there is no alternative.
- Men with very low sperm parameters or those having difficulty with ejaculation. This is especially important for men who sometimes have no sperm in their ejaculate. Even if other times there are single spermatozoa in the ejaculate, spermatozoa are frozen before the procedure as a back-up. Men with diabetes or other conditions causing erectile dysfunction are also advised to have back-up frozen sperm on the day of the IVF procedure.