Sperm freezing is a simple way to preserve a man’s fertility for the future. There are many reasons you may consider freezing sperm, from upcoming medical treatment that may affect fertility (such as chemotherapy) to low sperm count. This page will help you navigate whether sperm freezing is right for you, introduce the costs involved and explain how to get started.
The usual profiles for men who freeze sperm include:
Before freezing sperm, it is helpful to assess sperm quality. If this is of interest, our Fertility Diagnostics for Men includes a semen analysis and a discussion with a fertility doctor to review results and ask questions.
The steps below explain how sperm freezing works and explains the process.
If you are not able to produce a sperm sample, there are other options to retrieve sperm, such as surgical sperm retrieval.
Sperm freezing with Apricity costs £845. This includes:
Additional samples frozen within 3 months of the first sample cost £200 per sample.
Annual storage costs £350 per year. This will start after the 12 months included in our sperm freezing package.
Do you have questions about our Sperm Freezing package? Get in touch through our contact page, or book a callback with a fertility advisor.
The UK has current legal limitations: a 10-year storage limit. However, this 10-year storage limit will be replaced with a right for individuals or couples who freeze eggs, sperm or embryos to be asked every 10 years if they want to keep or dispose of them, up to a maximum of 55 years. The extension will need a change in the law. However, the Department of Health and Social Care has not indicated how and when that will happen. Learn more and stay updated on The Guardian.
On the other hand, you may have frozen sperm leftover that you no longer wish to use. If this is the case, you can either donate your sperm or discard it. Options for donation include research, training or to someone who needs donor sperm to create a family. The clinic where your sperm is frozen will be able to arrange this for you.
Some people prefer to discard sperm. When this is done, a clinic removes the sperm from the freezer. It will perish naturally in warmer temperatures.
Fertility treatment with frozen sperm is just as successful as fertility treatment with fresh sperm. Whether treatment is successful will depend on standard fertility factors, such as age, quality of egg and sperm, and fertility history.
Sperm freezing is very safe. The HFEA recognises no risks to patients or children from using frozen sperm, although acknowledges that not all frozen sperm will survive the thawing process.
Your fertility advisor will help you plan your fertility treatment and ensure that your sperm is thawed at the right time. When the woman undergoing treatment is ready for embryo transfer, the sperm will be thawed and prepared for use. If undergoing IVF, it will be mixed in a petri dish with eggs. If the sperm quality is suboptimal, ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) may be suggested instead. In this procedure, sperm is selected and then placed right next to the egg to facilitate fertilisation.
If you wish to use your frozen sperm in fertility treatment with another clinic, simply let us know, and we will arrange the transfer.
Do you have questions about sperm freezing? Get in touch through our contact page, or book a callback with a fertility advisor.
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