Reasons to bank sperm
There are many reasons to bank (freeze or store) sperm. Some people store sperm for “back up” before fertility treatment for clinical or psychological reasons. Some men freeze sperm before having a vasectomy. Some armed forces personnel store sperm before deployment. But the biggest reason for sperm banking is before medical treatment that can make a person infertile, for example:
- Chemotherapy or radiotherapy
- Urological surgery e.g. prostate, bladder
- Spinal surgery
- Gender re-assignment
IF YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL AND WISH TO REFER A PATIENT FOR SPERM BANKING, PLEASE READ HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Funding for sperm banking
To qualify for NHS-funded sperm banking, the patient must meet the criteria laid down by the local funding bodies, the CCGs (clinical commissioning groups). Funding can change depending on which area of the country you live in. In general, the East Midlands region (Notts, Derbys, Lincoln, Leics) will provide funding for those who are at risk of long term infertility, but please contact us if in doubt.
You’ll then be referred by a specialist or department which has agreed to fund it. If you qualify for funding this will last initially for 10 years, providing there is a continued fertility problem, and will be reviewed before the 10 year period is completed.
However, you don’t have to be funded or referred by a doctor – anyone can have their sperm banked and can refer themselves to the clinic on a self-funded basis. Click here for our up to date price list.
Sperm banking process
You may be referred for sperm banking by your doctor (if your storage will be NHS-funded) or you can call us directly to arrange an appointment if you are self-funding.
We will arrange an appointment with you and give you written information to read and digest.
We recommend that you abstain from ejaculation for 2-3 days (and no longer than 7 days) before your appointment, where possible.
Your appointment will be around 1-1.5 hours and consist of:
- Information and consent consultation
- Semen sample production (onsite at the clinic)
- Blood test for HIV and Hepatitis (if not already performed)
If you have a long term partner, you are welcome to bring them with you for the consent consultation.
Sperm banking follow-up
For oncology patients, we recommend a repeat semen analysis 12 months after your treatment is finished. We can then advise you on your current fertility status, whether to continue storage and whether you would need to use the samples in future, and how you might do so. You can contact us directly to book this appointment.
It is very important that we stay in touch with you throughout the storage period. From time to time, we will send out a standard letter as a reminder that we still have your sperm in our freezer. We check the following:
- Are aware that we still have your sperm in storage?
- Do you still want them to be kept in storage?
- Would you like to change or update your consent forms?
- Have you had a recent sperm test or would you like to book one?
We can’t stress enough how important it is that you keep in touch with us and answer any correspondence. Because it is against the law to store sperm without a valid consent, we have a legal duty to ensure all our records are up to date. In the worse-case scenario, some patient-samples have been disposed of because the patient failed to respond. For this reason we are very grateful for you returning our letters and keeping us informed with your latest address details.
If you are at all concerned about your samples in storage, please don’t hesitate to contact our laboratory team on: [email protected]