Sperm Storage

There are many circumstances where people may face the prospect of losing their fertility.

Sperm cryobanking has given people the opportunity to preserve their fertility and to look forward to having a family in the future.

Reasons for Banking Sperm

  • Men diagnosed with cancer
  • Men faced with military deployment
  • Back-up prior to vasectomy
  • Ejaculatory difficulties
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Primary testicular failure
  • Surgically removed testicular sperm
  • Variable semen parameters
  • Prior to gender reassignment
  • Clinical conditions where the condition or its treatment may damage sperm e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney disease
  • Back-up for men undergoing assisted conception treatment elsewhere,
in cases where they have difficulty producing samples on demand or if they may be absent on the day of egg collection
  • Personal or social reasons e.g age
  • As part of a sperm donation programme

Information about sperm freezing and storage

Sperm freezing and storage is regulated by the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) and must be carried out at an HFEA licensed centre. You will need to sign legal consent forms prior to freezing and storage of your sperm

All men wishing to store sperm must have screening for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C to reduce the risk of contamination in the storage vessels

Under HFEA regulations, sperm can be stored for an initial maximum period of 10 years. If you are infertile, an extension to store your sperm for up to 55 years may be applied for.

As there is no guarantee that any number of sperm samples will result in a pregnancy, we can only give you guidance. We will discuss this with you at the time, once we have looked at your sperm and seen the results of the test thawed samples

Sperm samples are frozen by adding a cryoprotectant solution and placing the samples into liquid nitrogen. The freezing and thawing process does have a negative impact on the sperm samples, and after thawing there is usually a decline in the motility, viability and DNA integrity of the sperm. However, the pregnancy outcome using frozen thawed sperm is no different to using fresh sperm.

Thawed frozen sperm will need to be used with some form of assisted conception treatment, depending on the quality of the sperm.

Counselling

We have a Counsellor on board who can help you discuss any concerns you may have. Our counsellor has many years experience in this area. This service can be arranged at any point whilst samples are in storage at Andrology Solutions.

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Have a question?

We understand that fertility is a very personal and private matter. We’re here to answer any questions you may have. Contact us to arrange an appointment or read our FAQs.

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