Successful sperm freezing was first carried in 1953, followed by successful embryo freezing thirty years later. These techniques have now become an integral part of assisted reproductive medicine. Hundreds of thousands of babies have been born worldwide as a result of treatment with frozen sperm.

Choosing to freeze your sperm is the most successful method of preserving male fertility so that you can still start a family later in life.

Sperm freezing is provided at RAWAL FERTILITY as a method of preserving your fertility for use in future treatment. Some men choose to freeze their sperm for medical reasons, e.g. they have been diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness which is likely to impact their reproductive organs and can prevent them from producing healthy sperm in the future. Other men may wish to consider freezing their sperm if they are about to undergo a vasectomy procedure but may change their mind in future, or they have been diagnosed with a low or a deteriorating quality of sperm.

Your sperm sample will need to be produced on our premises so that we can ensure it can be frozen within an hour of production to ensure minimal deterioration. If producing a sample on site is difficult then it can be brought in within an hour of production in a suitable sterile container which we can provide at the clinic. The sample must be produced in a pot given to you by our staff and be labelled with your full name, date of birth and registration number. It must also be accompanied by a completed semen production form. We recommend 2-3 days abstinence (2 or 3 days since ejaculation, i.e. via sexual intercourse or masturbation) to ensure a good sample is available for collection. Men who find it difficult to produce a sample via masturbation can attempt natural intercourse using a spermicidal free non-toxic condom which can be provided by the clinic.

When you decide that you wish to use your sperm, your partner will need to undergo fertility treatment which may include IVF or IUI or, in the event that your sperm is not of optimum quality, you will be offered either ICSI or IMSI treatment. Once your sperm have been thawed they’ll be used in exactly the same way as fresh sperm and as such, have an equal success rate

To ensure the safety of all our stored samples, we need to know if you are a carrier of a viral infection, such as Hepatitis or are infected with HIV.. Following a negative screening test, samples will be kept in designated ‘cleared’ banks. Samples from patients who have not been tested are stored with previously untested samples. There should be minimal concern as samples are stored in closed vials. Not all sperm will survive the freezing and thawing process. We will advise you further if the samples are suboptimal and if multiple samples are necessary for freezing over a period of time.

Our consultant is happy to answer any questions you may have when you visit to consult with us for a Sperm Freezing procedure.