At CARE Fertility we offer sperm freezing. Sperm freezing and sperm storage is a simple way of preserving your sperm until you wish to start a family. Like egg freezing and embryo freezing, freezing sperm allows men to save their sperm if they need to delay conception. For example if they are undergoing a medical procedure that may affect their fertility. However unlike eggs, sperm can be frozen and stored indefinitely, there are no limits placed on how long sperm storage can last.
You should freeze your sperm to conserve it in case of infertility or if you want to donate to someone else. Here are some of the most common reasons why people freeze their sperm:
Generally, we will freeze sperm that you have provided us with in a semen sample, but we can also collect it surgically if required. Before you begin the procedure, it will be explained in more detail by your medical specialist.
Fertility treatments using frozen sperm are just as successful as those using fresh sperm. Our success rates are consistently high - CARE Fertility are highly experienced in the vitrification freezing process.
There are no risks associated with the process of collecting sperm, as it is a non-invasive procedure. There are no risks to recipients of embryos created with frozen sperm, or to babies crated from those embryos.
The cost of freezing your sperm with CARE Fertility is £115, with an annual storage charge of £350.*
*please note the cost of freezing sperm at CARE Bath and CARE Woking is £510 including the first year of storage.
If you require other treatments, such as IVF or ICSI for example or would like to continue storing your sperm, this will be charged separately. You can view our full cost of CARE Fertility IVF treatments here.
Your sperm can be frozen and stored for as long as your storage consent allows. That is usually up to 10 years but may be longer depending on why you are freezing sperm. The HFEA regulates storage and dictates that you consent to the storage of your sperm and its future use, so your consent can be changed or withdrawn whenever you like.
To assess sperm quality after freezing, we may thaw a small sample after a freeze to check on the quality of frozen sperm. This 'trial thaw' enables us to assess survival and provide advice on the best treatment using the sperm. Depending on the sperm quality, our recommendation may be to store a number of samples over a period of time to assure we have adequate samples for potential future use.
Before your sperm is frozen, you must complete statutory consent forms which cover the following:
If you do not use all of your frozen sperm, you may discard or donate it.
At CARE, if you no longer wish to have treatment but still have sperm in storage, there are a few options you may wish to consider: