Cryopreservation is the freezing of cells or tissue in order to preserve them for future use. Egg, embryo or sperm freezing may be considered for certain medical conditions that require treatment which is likely to cause premature infertility e.g. chemotherapy, radiotherapy, drug/hormone therapy. This may impact your ability to have children in the future. Treatment like radiotherapy or chemotherapy which destroys cancer cells also “attacks” some other cells which rapidly divide, such as the cells in the ovaries and testes.
It is likely that you have never previously had to think about storing your sperm/eggs or undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to store embryos. You are now being faced with this decision at a time when you have many other things to consider. If you feel you require additional emotional support regarding your decision whether or not to store sperm, eggs or embryos, please speak with a member of our team who will arrange for you to see one of our specialist counsellors.
If you produce sperm and you are contemplating having a child in the future, your sperm can be stored. If you produce eggs, you can undergo ovarian stimulation and an egg collection procedure to store these, as the pregnancy rate using frozen eggs is nearly as good as using fresh eggs. Alternatively you can create embryo(s) with your partner’s sperm and store these. Your stored sperm, eggs or embryos can be used in future treatment.
The Law in this country has recently changed and now states that sperm, eggs or embryos may be stored for up to 55 years. In order to do this, you will require to consent to initial storage (for 10 years) and then ‘renew’ your consent to storage every 10 years. In order to renew consented periods we need to maintain contact with you so you must inform us when you change your address or phone number. It is important that you carefully consider how long you want to store your sperm, eggs or embryos.
More patient information about Emergency Fertility Preservation can be found in our Patient Information Sheet.
