Elective Sperm Freezing

In addition to freezing sperm for men as part of their fertility treatment or before receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy, MFS is able to freeze sperm for men for a variety of other elective reasons.

Who may benefit from elective sperm freezing?

men who work in high risk occupations, for example:
men in the military have frozen sperm and completed posthumous use consent forms before deployment in case of their serious injury, or even death when on active service
where there is a family history of premature andropause, especially in the man’s father, uncles or paternal grandfather
men who are away from home for extended periods of time and whose wives or partners may require fertility treatment during their absence
any man whose sperm counts are declining and there is concern that he could become azoospermic

For whom is elective sperm freezing not suitable?

MFS is unable to register patients under the age of 18 years
any man who is known to be azoospermic
any man who has screened positive for a sexually transmitted disease

What does elective sperm freezing involve?

During a single consultation appointment:

a blood sample will be taken for routine infection screening
information will be given about the procedure and counselling will be offered
consent to freeze sperm and the issue of posthumous use will be explained and if the patient wants to go ahead with the procedure, he will give consent in writing by completing standard HFEA forms
the man will be invited to provide a sperm sample, and one of the scientific team will check the:
- count (the number of sperm)
- motility (movement)
- morphology (shape)
- PH
- volume
if any viable sperm are evident, the sample will be loaded into labelled ’straws’ and stored in liquid nitrogen at ‒196°C, for possible future use. (The sperm count and quality do not have to meet the criteria required for sperm donation.)
the cost of sperm freezing includes the fee for the first year’s storage
a SSR may be recommended if there are no sperm in the ejaculate and if surgery will allow a sample of testicular tissue to be extracted
in the future, the stored sperm samples may be used with IUI, IVF or ICSI:
- if he and his partner have been unable to conceive naturally
- by his partner, in the event of his death and if the appropriate posthumous use consent forms were signed

What is included in the elective sperm freezing treatment cost?

routine infection screening
the laboratory analysis of the sperm sample(s)
storage of the sperm sample for the first year

What is not included in the elective sperm freezing treatment cost?

SSR procedure
any other investigations or treatments
storage of the sperm sample after the first year

How long does elective sperm freezing treatment take?

From consultation to sperm freeze, about two to three weeks.

Costs

Cost of private sperm analysis at MFS: £295

Cost of banking sperm and first year’s storage at MFS: £410

Annual storage cost for frozen sperm at MFS: £170