Sperm Banking

Why Bank?

When does it make sense to bank sperm?

Before medical treatment or surgery - Certain medical procedures can leave a man sterile.  Banking sperm prior to treatment leaves the door open to conceiving a child through artificial insemination at a later date.  Medical treatments that may lead to sterility include:

• Chemotherapy, radiation and surgical treatments for cancer
• Testicular or prostate surgery
• Vasectomy – while sterility is the goal of a vasectomy, banking sperm allows for future reproduction without surgery to reverse the vasectomy

For use in assisted reproductive procedures - The chances of success with certain reproductive therapies can be improved through sperm banking.

• Assisted reproductive therapies such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), ZIFT, ICSI and GIFT require that sperm is available at a specific point in the process. Sperm banking assures that sperm is available when needed.

• When a patient is diagnosed with low-sperm count (oligospermia), banked sperm samples can be combined to increase the number of sperm inseminated.

When occupational risk for sterility is high - Some jobs have a greater chance of causing sterility or interfering with the reproductive process.  Storing sperm provides insurance and peace of mind that fertility will be possible in the event of damage to the male reproductive system.  Those prone to occupational sterility include:

• Workers exposed to environmentally hazardous materials
• Workers exposed to radiation
• Professional athletes
• Law enforcement officers and fire fighters
• Members of the armed forces

When a spouse is absent.  When a couple cannot be together during ovulation due to business travel or military deployment, stored sperm may be used for insemination.