Reproductive Cell Banking
About Sperm
Cryo-Preservation
Sperm Cryopreservation
Now, more than ever, people have control over their reproductive lives. There are situations in life when depositing sperm in a long-term storage bank offers options for future preservation and peace of mind.
Reasons men should consider sperm cryopreservation:
- Before undergoing cancer therapies – therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation can cause permanent sterility and infertility
- Before having prostate or testicular surgery – damage can be caused to a man’s reproductive organs during testicular surgery and prostatectomy.
- Before having a vasectomy – to preserve fertility and prevent the need for reversal surgery if personal circumstances change
- High risk occupations – men exposed to chemical, radiation, extreme heat etc. can become sterile.
- When involved with assisted Reproductive Technologies
- When men are going to be absent – Sperm freezing enables the female partner to continue with her reproductive schedule even if the male partner can’t be there due to work commitments or unforeseen circumstances.
From a medical perspective, a pregnancy achieved using donor sperm or partner sperm is no different from a pregnancy achieved by sexual intercourse.
How is the sperm stored?
The sperm is stored in straws, each holding approximately O.5ml of semen and cryogenically preserved in liquid nitrogen tanks. There is no limit on how long frozen sperm can be stored.
Cryopreservation is low temperature storage of biological cells and/or tissues for an indefinite period of time. Cryopreservation utilizes liquid nitrogen as both the refrigerant and storage medium.
How is the sperm used?
Once thawed, sperm are introduced into the female by artificial insemination (AI) either depositing the sperm into the uterus, or are used to inseminate female eggs (oocytes) during in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outside the body and then the eggs are implanted into the uterus.