Protect and preserve your fertility for future use with our sperm cryopreservation services.
Sperm freezing, also called sperm cryopreservation, is the process of storing and preserving sperm cells in liquid nitrogen so that they can be possibly used in the future to make a baby. Like egg freezing, cryopreserving your sperm essentially allows you to preserve your fertility indefinitely, regardless of age, illness, surgery or life event.
Now more than ever, men are choosing to preserve their sperm and keep the option of parenthood open for the future. The cryopreservation process is easy, effective, and even screens for genetic defects and diseases prior to insemination, whether that’s through IVF or another procedure.
Sperm freezing is recommended for any person who might lose sperm quality over time and wants to save their fertility for future use. This includes:
Compared to egg freezing, sperm cryopreservation is much less involved. One takes weeks, while this one only takes you a few minutes, depending on your preferences. Here’s how it works.
When you come to the fertility clinic, we will have you fill out some paperwork and order blood work to screen for any issues. Once clear, you’ll go into a private room so you can produce a sample. If you prefer, you can also do this at home and then bring the specimen to the lab within an hour. If neither of these methods produces sperm, our doctors offer a pain-free method of aspirating sperm from your testes.
Once we receive your sample, we will go through the process of “washing” or separating sperm from the seminal fluid. This allows us to analyze the sperm, including the count, their motility (how they’re swimming), and their shape.
This ensures down the line that when we go to choose sperm from your sample, there will be better chances at healthy specimens.
Once washed, the sperm is usually mixed with a cryoprotectant to prevent cell damage and then vitrified (frozen very fast) in liquid nitrogen. After the initial freezing, the samples are then transferred to liquid nitrogen storage where they’ll remain until you’re ready to use them!
When you’re ready to use them or you’ve donated them to another family for use, we will thaw them out and check that they’re still viable.
You or the donor family can then use the sperm in the hopes of fertilizing an egg via IVF or IUI. Both procedures do not require sexual intercourse to get pregnant.
Fertility is personal—your care should be, too. If you’re interested in exploring your options, request a consultation with one of our Tennessee fertility specialists. We can make a baby, together.