Teenage and young adult cancers fertility preservation - sperm freezing: patient information

What is involved in sperm freezing?

Sperm freezing is a method of preserving your fertility by storing sperm before cancer treatment starts. To provide a sample for freezing, you will need to masturbate and ejaculate into a sterile container.

Once you have produced your sperm sample, the laboratory team will contact you to inform you about its quality and whether it is suitable for freezing. If time allows, they may recommend providing a second sample to improve the chances of successful fertility preservation.

There is no guarantee that any given semen sample will be suitable for storage. Illness, previous treatments, or other factors can affect sperm production. The only way to confirm this is by laboratory examination of the sperm sample.