Sperm Banking
Sperm prior to vasectomy is becoming more and more popular, even among men who think that will want children in the future. The benefits include freedom from fear of unwanted pregnancy, and the freedom of female partners from the risks and side effects of female-oriented contraceptives ... until ready for parenthood. Use of frozen (cryopreserved) semen is a reasonable alternative to vasectomy reversal if and when the individual wishes to father children in the future.
For some men, sperm banking is almost a necessity. Men diagnosed with cancer during their early 20's face a course of chemotherapy likely to provide a cure but also likely to adversely affect sperm production. Their only hope of fathering children is with preservation and storage of sperm obtained prior to chemotherapy. For years, sperm banks have been providing this service.
For another group of men, infertility has necessitated use of donor semen. While these men may be infertile for a variety of reasons, use of donor sperm allows their wives to experience pregnancy and childbirth, obviously not part of the adoption process. Nearly all donor sperm used nowadays is obtained from frozen semen. Fresh semen is almost never used because infected donors may not test positive for hepatitis and AIDS until weeks after donation. Cryopreservation (rapid freezing) of semen provides the safety net needed to confirm that sperm donors are healthy and have negative tests weeks or months after donating.
So sperm banks have extensive experience with the cryopreservation of sperm for patients with cancer and other causes of male-factor infertility. They are capable of expanding these services to men considering elective sterilization. Data would suggest that the sooner the specimen is frozen after production and evaluation, the greater the likelihood of having quality sperm when thawed. Therefore, there is value in traveling to the cryo preservation center and producing the specimen there ... for men who know they will want a family in the future.
1. Cryos International is a a sperm bank located in Orlando near UCF. Please see their website HERE. They offer longterm sperm storage right in Florida, so that no transport of specimens in required. Specimens are frozen within an hour of production at their facility.
2. Other fertility centers will freeze specimens immediately (within an hour of being produced at the center) and send frozen specimens for longterm storage to another location. One Tampa Bay Area center that provides this service is the Florida Fertility Institute in Clearwater.
3. Many companies provide special preservatives for transport of unfrozen semen. With overnight transport, there may be some loss of sperm quality during the interval between production and freezing, but he advantage is that men may produce their specimens in the privacy of their own homes and send them to the lab and storage facility in overnight mailers provided by the company.
Sperm Storage through ReproTech, Ltd.
ReproTech, Ltd. (RTL) supports a network of top fertility centers specializing in the treatment of infertility. Following cryopreservation at one of the centers, specimens are shipped to ReproTech for long-term cryostorage at one of its four (4) facilities. To locate the nearest member of the Fertility Preservation Network, go to www.reprotech.com or call 888-953-9669. If you are unable to travel to one of the members of the Fertility Preservation Network, ReproTech also offers a sperm banking by mail kit, OverNite MaleTM Kit for $575, which may be used to send your specimen by FedEx to their processing lab. ReproTech provides financial assistance to qualifying patients through its Verna's Purse www.vernaspurse.org. Fees as of December 2016 are below and periodically updated here.| The fees for RTL's semen storage are: | (as of December 2016) |
| Quarterly | $75.00 |
| 1 year | $275.00 |
| 2 years | $490.00 |
| 3 years | $705.00 |
| 5 years | $1020.00 |
| 10 years | $1905.00 |
Sperm Storage through Xytex Corporation
One company that has long been in the business of Long Term Storage (LTS) of sperm is Xytex Corporation (www.xytex.com), headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, with additional offices in Atlanta and Raleigh. Xytex can mail a patient a Cryokit® for sperm storage by mail, so the candidate can carry out the whole process in the privacy of his own home.
| Fees for semen storage with Xytex were: | (as of 3/9/2011) |
| Blood tests, samples (1-3), administrative fee, one (1) year of storage, dewar shipping and liquid nitrogen and supplies, processing and report of samples | $1210.00 |
| Storage fees: | |
| 1 year | $300.00 |
| 2 years | $500.00 |
| 3 years | $700.00 |
| 4 years | $900.00 |
| 5 years | $1100.00 |
| 10 years | $2050.00 |
Here's how it works:
- Call Xytex at 1-800-353-5748 and request a cryokit. If you have any technical questions, Kate Howell will be happy to address them.
- After receiving a cryokit by mail and over a period of one week, collect 3 semen samples. For each collection, you are provided a storage tube for 95% of the semen and a drop tube for 5% of the semen.
- After collection of the third specimen, mail the cryokit back to Xytex.
- The drop tube specimen will be tested by Xytex to determine whether the remainder of the semen is worth storing, i.e., likely to cause a pregnancy when used. Xytex will contact you by phone with the semen test results.
- If favorable, you will have to decide whether to continue storage and for how many years. If unfavorable, you can still store, but with less expectation of success if and when the semen is used.
Sperm Storage through CryoChoice
CryoChoice is another excellent option. The company, based in Atlanta, offers a cost-effective home kit for privately banking sperm. As of July 2013, 6 monthly payments of $99 each could satisfy the total first year's cost of $599. which includes one complete collection kit, at-home pick-up and delivery of your sample, lab processing and testing, and the first year's storage. All clients who store with CryoChoice commit to a minimum of three years' storage at $139 per year for years 2 & 3, then that same rate per year until the client decides to cancel. To learn more, visit www.cryochoice.com or call 800-619-7869.
Sperm Storage with Fertility Center of California
This San Diego based cryobank is a leader in the FREEZE FIRST CAMPAIGNR. They are extremely user-friendly and individually tailor their services to the needs of each patient. They can arrange for immediate freezing at a lab near the patient followed by transport of the frozen specimen to their facility in San Diego for longterm storage; or they can provide a mailer for preservation of unfrozen semen during overnight cross-country transport to their facility in San Diego for testing and longterm storage. To learn more, visit www.spermbankcalifornia.com or call 619-265-0102.
Sperm Storage with the Ro Sperm Kit
https://ro.co/spermkit/. $199 Semen Analysis and Storage for 1 year at New England Cryogenic Center.
Sperm Storage with Fellow
https://www.meetfellow.com/kit-plus-cryo. $189 for Semen Analysis + $140 per year for storage at their facility in San Leandro, California.
Less Expensive Sperm Storage through Newer Start-up Companies
On January 4, 2020, I learned HERE about two start-up companies that offer sperm storage for less. The two companies are Legacy and Dadi (click for their websites). We have had no feedback from patients who have used these companies to store sperm, but we would welcome it.Use of frozen semen
While you may be able to preserve your semen without incurring any professional "doctor" fees (except those paid to the lab and sperm storage facility), you will need the services of a gynecologist to use it.
If the semen is of good quality (high sperm count and activity), it can be injected directly into your partner's cervix at the time of ovulation, a process known as artificial insemination (AI) or intra-uterine insemination (IUI). Your partner may receive some fertility booster pills for a few weeks before the IUI, but usually no injectables. You can check with local GYN offices to learn the "going price" for AI. As of May 2023, one fertility center in the Tampa Bay area charges $1150 for each IUI cycle plus the cost of the fertility pills provided for the woman. Chances of stored semen causing a pregnancy in the first month (female cycle) of use are about 18.5% for women <35 years old, just slightly less than the monthly chance of pregnancy in a healthy couple (20%) of similar age. (Click blue links for references.)
If the semen is of sub-optimal quality (low sperm count or activity), an infertility specialist may recommend in-vitro fertilization (IVF). This would require harvesting your partner's eggs surgically, fertilizing them directly with your thawed sperm, then re-implanting the best fertilized egg(s) (now at the "blastocyst" stage) into your partner's uterus. This process can cost thousands of dollars, depending on the number of attempts made (plan $15-20,000 for each attempt), but this may be the option of choice for female partners over 40, whose eggs are older and at higher risk of having chromosomal abnormlities like Down's Syndrome. IVF allows selection of fertilized eggs (or blastocysts) that are free of such abmormailies, and it even allows gender selection.
Summary
While vasectomy reversal success rates are good, reversals don't always result in sperm return to the semen. Cryopreservation (preservation by freezing) of semen prior to vasectomy can alleviate concerns about the permanency of vasectomy and the possibility of reversal failure. Three semen samples can be shipped, evaluated, and stored for two years for less than $1000. While most vasectomy candidates will never use their stored sperm, they may get as much peace of mind from knowing "it's there" as they do from any other insurance policy.