Preserve your fatherhood
Sperm Freezing Services in Tennessee
Protect and preserve your fertility for future use with our sperm cryopreservation services.
Why Freeze and Store Your Sperm
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.
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The Benefits of Freezing Your Sperm
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:
- Older men whose sperm quality decreases with age
- Men who plan on having a vasectomy
- Men who have low sperm counts or slow sperm
- Sperm donors who want to help families in need
- Cancer patients before they undergo chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery
- Couples considering in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI)
- Transgender men before gender transition surgery
- Men who work in high-risk environments that may affect their fertility
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What is Sperm Freezing?
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.
How We Freeze Your Sperm for Future Use
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.
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1
Collect Your Sperm
When you come to the fertility clinic, we will have you first fill out some paperwork, order blood work to screen for any issues. Once clear, you’ll then 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.
For full details, visit our instructions page on sperm collection.
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2
Wash and Analyze the Sample
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.
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3
Separate and Freeze
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!
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4
Thaw and Use to Conceive
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.
Find Out if Sperm Freezing is Right for You
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.