Fertility Preservation: Sperm Freezing – Edinburgh Fertility Centre

Cryopreservation is the freezing of cells or tissues in order to preserve them for future use. Sperm freezing may be considered for certain medical conditions that require treatment that is likely to cause premature infertility (eg. chemotherapy, radiotherapy, drug/hormone therapy). Sperm cryopreservation may also be recommended for patients undergoing fertility treatment if there is difficultly producing a sample for fertility treatment or tests show a declining sperm count.

Please note that we are unable to accept referrals for social sperm freezing.

Information for Referring Staff

All documents, including the referral form, patient information and consent forms can be found in the Document Library for Referrals at the bottom of this page.

Referrals

We accept referrals for patients who live in the Lothian and Borders areas. Referrals must come from an appropriate NHS Lothian and Borders clinician or nurse specialist. We work closely with a number of oncology nurse specialists who will be able to go through information and consent forms. Similarly, we work with nurse specialists and consultants at the Gender Identity Clinic at the Chalmers Centre and can accept referrals for transgender patients via this pathway.

Fertility preservation may be NHS funded or self-funded, depending on eligibility, which is detailed on the referral form. If the eligibility criteria for NHS funded sperm storage is not met, we offer a self-funded option (see Self Funded Treatment page for costs).

Special considerations apply to patients under 16 years old. The referring clinician will need to confirm in writing that you have capacity to consent (be Gillick competent) before referring you for sperm storage. You may wish to be accompanied by someone over the age of 18 years (preferably a parent or family member) when going through consent forms.

Information before giving consent

Our information sheet aims to provide you with the relevant information to allow you to make informed decisions about sperm storage, treatment and disclosure of information before you sign consent forms.

Counselling

If you would like to speak to a Fertility Counsellor about concerns or implications relating to sperm storage, please let us know.

Consent forms

It is important to read the relevant consent forms carefully before completing the different sections. These are legal documents and mistakes may result in sperm being destroyed if proper consent is not given. As a minimum, you must complete the consent for sperm storage (HFEA GS form) and to the disclosure of identifying information (HFEA CD form).

If you have a partner you wish to name to use your stored sperm and/or embryos, including in the event of your death or if you become unable to make decisions, the HFEA MT form must be completed. If you do not have a partner you wish to name at the time of sperm freezing, this form does not need to be completed but if your circumstances change and you later wish to name your partner, it is essential that you complete this form as soon as possible. If this consent is not completed and given to us, your named partner will not be able to use your sperm and/or embryos in fertility treatment.

Screening

Before sperm storage, patients must be screened negative for:

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Hepatitis B (surface antigen and core antibody)
Hepatitis C (antibody)

Additional screening is required when an egg donor and surrogate may be required future fertility treatment. As with sperm donors, additional tests include:

Hepatitis C antigen
Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)
Cytomegalovirus (CMV IgG and IgM)
Syphilis
Chlamydia
Gonorrhoea

With the exception of CMV, we are unable to store sperm if any of the tests are positive.

Information for Referring Staff

For urgent referrals for sperm freezing within 2 days, please phone Virology to let them know they will be receiving blood samples for urgent testing. They should take a note of the patient’s name, date of birth and tests requested..

Appointments

Appointment slots for sperm freezing are between 10:30am and 2:00pm, Monday to Friday. If you are due to start chemotherapy, radiotherapy or drug treatment, the referring clinician or nurse specialist will contact the laboratory team to arrange an appointment.

For referrals from the Chalmers Centre, an appointment will be made to speak with a Fertility Counsellor. After this appointment, the Fertility Counsellor will let the laboratory team know to arrange an appointment for sperm freezing.

We recommend that you abstain from ejaculation for 2 to 7 days before you appointment for sperm freezing. This is in order to produce the best quality sample for storage. At your appointment, you will be asked you to confirm your name and date of birth and your details will be checked by two members of laboratory staff. You will be shown to a designated room where you will be asked to answer questions that are relevant to sperm quality. You will then be left to produce your semen sample by masturbation.

Sperm freezing procedure

The sample will be placed in an incubator immediately after production before a semen analysis is carried out. We measure the volume of the sample and assess the motility (how the sperm are swimming), concentration (sperm count) and morphology (shape of the sperm). A solution is added to the semen, which protects the sperm during the freezing process. The sample is then separated into small amounts into straws for freezing. Once frozen, the straws are placed into large storage tanks that are maintain at cryogenic temperatures.

Follow-up semen analysis after chemotherapy

We recommend that you have a semen analysis at least 1 year after stopping chemotherapy as fertility can be restored depending on the type and dose of drug administered. This can help you decide if you wish for your samples to remain in storage or if they can be allowed to thaw and perish. This also helps us to maintain our storage facility so that there is sufficient capacity for other patients who are referred to us.

For a semen analysis, you will need the Andrology Request Form, specimen pot and sample bag. You may be able to get this at your oncology follow-up at the Western General Hospital if the department you attend have a supply. You may request this from your GP.

Review of stored sperm

We carry out regular reviews relating to sperm stored. We may contact you to make sure we have up-to-date information or to send you consent forms should they need to be updated. It is therefore important that you let us know if you move address or change medical practice. If consent needs to be updated, the letter we send will guide you on which form is required.

Before the storage expiry date, we will write to you to advise which form(s) need to be completed. They can be found in the Document Library for Patients (Storage Review) at the bottom of this page.