Infertility Articles - Semen Cryopreservation Before Chemotherapy

National Network Set to Preserve Fatherhood for Young Male Cancer Patients

The success of curing men of reproductive age with cancer is improving rapidly. Most men with cancer can now look forward to family and fatherhood. The rapid advancements of assisted reproductive technologies have greatly enhanced the chances for men having undergone cancer treatments to now father their own biological children. Cryopreserved sperm specimens, when properly stored, will remain viable for an indefinite period of time. Pregnancies have been reported from the use of thawed semen that had been frozen and stored for 20 years prior to use.

Fairfax Cryobank has established a national network in the United States and Canada of well respected infertility centers to collect and freeze cancer patients semen samples prior to commencement of cancer treatment and chemotherapies for long term cryopreservation in Fairfax Virginia at nominal cost. The patient would call Fairfax Cryobank and be directed to a local IVF center where the sample would be collected. The Women’s Clinic of West Reading, PA (www.infertilitypa.com) is the local member of our network with a history of being a successful Long Term Infertility Center. The Women’s Clinic, Ltd. founded in 1956 has had a successful infertility program since 1986. In a sense this is local fertility insurance.

Fairfax Cryobank (1-800-338-8407, www.fairfaxcryobank.com) is now accepting patients desiring to cryopreserve their sperm. To accommodate those young male cancer patients of childbearing age who are newly diagnosed with cancer, Sperm Cryopreservation is offered as a safeguard against the potential of sterility associated with chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. This service can be accessed locally at the Women’s Clinic, Ltd. within a few days of the initial call. While it is advantageous for patients to bank all semen specimens prior to beginning therapies that can result in sterility, recent studies have shown that viable samples can be collected in the early stages of some treatments. Other men who would benefit are those undergoing vasectomy.

Fairfax Cryobank can help by providing for the collection, storage and long term freezing of semen. Patient samples are accepted after laboratory blood testing to guarantee the absence of infectious diseases. Once the samples are collected and frozen at the Women’s Clinic, Ltd. they will be transferred to Fairfax Cryobank for storage. Fairfax Cryobank, a division of Genetics & IVF Institute, (www.givf.com) is located in Fairfax, V A and is in operation since 1986. Fairfax Cryobank has grown into one of the two largest commercial sperm banks in the country, providing anonymous donor sperm for infertility options and sperm cryopreservation and storage services for individuals and oncology patients. This new service will be a tremendous help to both cancer patients and physicians who typically treat them- urologists, hematologists, oncologists and radiation specialists.

Now cancer patients have hope to preserve their chances at fatherhood.