Sperm freezing, also known as sperm banking or sperm cryopreservation, is intended to collect and freeze sperm for future use. After thawing, frozen sperm can be used for intrauterine insemination (IUI) or In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Reasons to freeze sperm include:
- Sperm banking before undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy, prostate or testicular surgery.
- Preserving fertility before getting older (usually advisable before the age 50).
- Preserving fertility potential before vasectomy.
- Unable to be physically present during your wife’s insemination or IVF procedure, you can elect to freeze your sperm pending you sign the necessary consent forms.
- If you can’t produce sperm and the doctors found sperm via testicular biopsy or micro-tese, it is better to freeze the sample in order to secure the availability of sperm once your wife undergoes IVF.
Sperm is usually prepared into special freezing solutions in small vials which go into storage tanks containing liquid nitrogen. Sperm can be frozen indefinitely and the process is unaffected by electricity shortage since it relies on liquid nitrogen availability.
Cost of sperm freezing varies depending on the duration (long-term or short-term) and varies between 150 $ and 300$ per year.
The quality of surviving thawed sperm is usually as good as fresh sperm and is associated with normal pregnancy rate. Book an appointment or e-mail our doctors