Fertility preservation

Fertility preservation involves the freezing of eggs, sperm or embryos to be safely stored so they can be used in potential future fertility treatments. Preserving your fertility can be a reassuring option if you think you might like to start your family further in the future.

There are a number of reasons why you might be considering fertility preservation, such as:

• You are not ready to start your family yet; maybe you haven’t met the right partner yet, you don’t feel financially or emotionally ready to have a baby or you have other life plans such as a career you want to pursue first.
• If you are going to be undergoing medical treatment, for example a vasectomy, or certain types of cancer treatment including chemotherapy and radiotherapy
• If you identify as transgender; you may want to preserve your fertility before you start hormone therapy or have gender-affirming surgery

Whatever your reason, we understand that preserving your fertility is a deeply personal decision. Our dedicated teams are on hand to support you with your fertility preservation decision and tailor your treatment to achieve your family building goals.

UK law permits you to store your eggs, embryos, sperm, ovarian or testicular tissue for use in treatment for up to 55 years from the date they are first placed in storage, but you must renew your consent every ten years.

Learn all you can about your clinic, the team, costs of treatment, how to prepare and the treatment process. There are many ways you can get the information you need:

• Attend a fertility information event. Care regularly runs virtual information events; our team will present on treatment options and other essential information. If you have questions, you can ask them privately during the event
• Read patent stories - it can really help to read about other people’s fertility journeys.
• Reviews. We have lots of patient reviews on Facebook, Google and Trustpilot.
• Social media. You can build a picture of what it's like to be a Care patient.
• The Care Forum. Our forum is a great support tool. You can see the questions people are asking, and if you want to, you can reach out to others going through the same journey.
• Digital brochure. You can request further information on our website, and we’ll send you our brochure.
• Our new patient enquiry team. The team can answer your questions about costs, the IVF process, success rates, waiting times and other important information.