Healthy sperm can be frozen for future use for a number of reasons. This includes fertility preservation for men who are about to undergo gonadotoxic (ie toxic to the testicles) chemotherapy treatment for cancer which will render them infertile, or have their testicles removed surgically for cancer. This is widely done, routinely funded by the NHS for most and considered a Good Practice Point of any oncology guideline or pathway.
However, there are also a number of other less known indications which mean that freezing sperm at a certain point in life for potential future use to have children is also appropriate. Examples of these include:
- Men who are about to start using certain medication for various medical reasons other than cancer which are known or associated with sperm abnormalities – such as certain antiepileptics, some hair loss medication, systemically administered steroids for various indications such as autoimmune or inflammatory conditions, chemotherapy agents used for non-cancer conditions etc.
- Genetic males who are planning to transition to women and want to freeze sperm prior to starting (or even at a later stage) of their gender transitioning journey.
- Men who are at risk of progressively worse mobility issues which puts them at risk of needing to use a wheelchair, such as early onset multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease etc; once a wheelchair user, the ability to both produce a sperm sample and its quality can dramatically deteriorate.
- Men with ejaculatory or erectile problems (either physical such as retrograde ejaculation or psychosexual) may benefit from sperm freezing for use in future treatments where proving a sample on the day may be difficult.
- Men who have extremely low sperm count (medically known as cryptospermia) as freezing sperm and preserving a number of samples when the sperm is present mitigates against the risk that some of these men in the future might have no sperm in their ejaculate.
- Men who live in different counties to their partners, or travel a lot, due to work reasons and want to have their sperm stored in the UK to allow for treatment even when they might not be able to attend on the specific days required.
- Men who frequently travel to areas where there is a risk of exposure to the Zika virus and want to store sperm for future use as a way to work around the suggested 3-month delay to conception after each exposure-prone trip.
Semen analysis
We will provide you with specific instructions about abstinence and what to avoid.
The doctor and embryology team will decide on the right number of times that you will be required to freeze your sperm samples and the timeframe over which this should be done. This can vary for each man and we will discuss what is most suitable for you. Normally, we ask you to attend the clinic once a week to produce a sample, up the number of times agreed. You will be asked to ejaculate into a cup, after which your sperm will be frozen ready for use in treatment.