Sperm and egg freezing are recommen
ded and available only to married couples that either need to protect their fertility due to receiving treatment for a medical condition, or like to extent their parenthood in the future.
Fertility preservation offers the opportunity, to both men and women, to prolong their ability to procreate either for medical or social reasons.
For women, the introduction of a rapid and efficient cryopreservation technique has allowed safe storage of eggs until wanted for progressing with a pregnancy. Because egg quality declines with age, their cryopreservation from an earlier time point can significantly increase future fertility chances.
For men, preservation is mainly useful for medical reasons, because sperms are not affected by aging in the same way that eggs are.
It is beneficial for men and women that have a medical condition and receive treatment that may seriously harm their fertility. For instance, cancer patients that will be given chemotherapy, radiotherapy or undergo surgery.
For young women with cancer, these options include freezing of eggs, and depending on the case, a treatment that may protect the ovaries from toxic chemotherapy drugs.
For young men with cancer, the options include freezing of sperm and / or testicular tissue. Often, the effects of chemotherapy / radiotherapy are temporary, but in some cases they may cause a permanent damage.
Fertility preservation can also be an option for women that may need to focus on other areas of their life, before they can commence a family and are concerned that their fertility declines.
Additionally, it is recommended to people with a debilitating condition or in high risk of injury.
Fertility preservation is also offered to women, who have excess of matured eggs after a cycle of ovarian stimulation and would like to keep them for future trials without starting fertility treatment from the beginning.
On the contrary, it is offered to women with low ovarian reserve (low capacity of producing eggs) that do not have enough eggs produced after a natural-cycle, minimal-stimulation or a full In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycle, and opt to keep collecting eggs before fertilization is attempted (egg accumulation).
Additionally, it is offered to men that cannot be present the day that their wife’s eggs are retrieved and prepared for fertilization.
If you are considering any of the above fertility preservation options, you should discuss your situation and motivations with one of our consultant doctors, who can advice you further based on your individual circumstances.