Michelle Emblenton, biochemist at inviTRA, tells us how fertility can be preserved in men:
To preserve male fertility we have the very good technique of sperm freezing. There is also another experimental technique of testicular tissue freezing which we'll have a look at in a minute. The most obvious reason to freeze your sperm for fertility preservation is if you are going to undergo a cancer treatment. However, these are not the only reasons to freeze your sperm. Other reasons to freeze your sperm may include patients who are planning to undergo a vasectomy. If you are going to undergo a vasectomy, it's not a bad idea to freeze a sample of sperm in the future in case you do decide in the future you want to have children and you can resort to using your frozen sperm. Also, in cases of poor sperm quality or perhaps postperm concentration, freezing the sperm allows you to bank a sufficient quantity of sperm for future assisted reproductive treatments.
In treatments such as IVF, a sperm sample is required on the day when we are going to fertilize the eggs with the sperm. Sometimes, this pressure may mean that the man cannot produce the sample. In this case, we can resort to a previously frozen sperm sample. Sperm freezing is also used to store donated sperm and also in the cases of transsexuals. When a man wants to transition to become a woman it may be a good idea to freeze a sperm sample first in order to preserve your chance of becoming a parent in the future.
In order to perform the process of sperm freezing, there is no hormonal medication or previous preparation required other than maintaining a period of sexual abstinence of between three to five days before giving the sample to ensure the sperm is of the very best quality. When the sample has been received, it will be analyzed in a semen analysis and processed in the laboratory so that the very best of the sperm is cryopreserved. It will be frozen in liquid nitrogen with cryoprotectants (where it can be stored indefinitely).
The experimental technique of testicular tissue freezing is designed for the fertility preservation of pre-adolescent boys who may have to undergo a cancer treatment. As they have not yet reached puberty, they are not able to give a sperm sample. To do this, a thin strip of testicular tissue containing the germ cells (which are the ones which eventually become and produce the spermatozoa) will be removed and cryo-preserved. In adulthood, when hopefully the cancer is now gone from the body, this testicular tissue can be returned back to the body and spermatogenesis will hopefully take place.
