Sperm storage is fast, efficient, and reliable when you choose ReproTech. Your options include the convenience of our Overnite Male™ Kit - for at home, expedited specimens, or you can work through the largest network of freezing centers in the world to find a clinic near you. Either way, you have the peace of mind that comes from knowing your future is safe with the worldwide leader in long-term fertility preservation.
Freezing Centers for Cancer Patients
ReproTech works closely with fertility centers across the United States to make sperm banking services available nationwide. While RTL does not provide sperm freezing services, our network of freezing centers will. Once specimens have been banked, we will coordinate the transportation of your semen to RTL for long term storage. Please see the ReproTech Network of Freezing Centers to learn more about the network. Sperm banking appointments are available for scheduling within 1 to 3 days of the initial call. While it is advantageous for patients to bank all semen specimens prior to beginning therapies that can result in sterility, recent studies have shown that viable samples can be collected in the early stages of some treatments.
Sperm Banking by Air (aka Sperm Banking from Home)
The OverNite Male™ Kit is a convenient tool for patients who cannot travel to one of the many ReproTech Fertility Preservation Network Clinics. These patients can now collect their specimens at home and FedEx® the specimen(s) directly to the University Andrology Laboratory using our OverNite Male™ Kit. The OverNite Male™ Kit is the original overnight sperm banking system and the only one with 15 years of proven success. (Read more...)
Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE) and Freezing
When it is not possible to produce a sperm sample for storage, sperm can often be obtained from a testicular tissue biopsy using a technique called testicular sperm extraction (TESE). In many cases, sperm can be retrieved from the testes of men who are infertile due to cancer treatments. TESE is a common procedure in many fertility clinics across the country for adult men, but is less commonly used (and considered experimental) for fertility preservation in adolescent boys. TESE is an outpatient procedure where testicular tissue is surgically removed and frozen for future use. When needed, the testicular tissue is thawed. At that time, the tissue is evaluated and an attempt is made to locate and retrieve sperm cells, which may be used in combination with Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).
Testicular Tissue Freezing for Pre-Pubescent Boys
Sperm banking is not an option for prepubertal boys who are not yet producing sperm. However, these boys do have stem cells in their testes that are poised to begin producing sperm at puberty. Currently there are some experimental studies underway to preserve testicular tissue obtained by biopsy and freeze it for future use. The tissue contains stem cells which will be able to start spermatogenesis (sperm production). Testicular tissue freezing is considered experimental and is generally only offered in a research setting with IRB oversight. Several studies are developing protocols that will enable scientists and physicians to use the frozen/thawed testicular tissue and stem cells to produce sperm in the laboratory or by re-implanting, years later, back into the individual. Research has proven these strategies are effective in animals and it is envisioned that they will also be effective in humans.
The Fertility Preservation Program of Pittsburgh is a multidisciplinary working group that includes key stake holders at Magee-Womens Research Institute, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The Fertility Preservation Program of Pittsburgh has established a dedicated phone line (412-641-7475) that patients and their physicians can call to learn about the reproductive side effects of their treatments and options for preserving their fertility. This is a discussion that needs to happen before toxic therapies are initiated and fertility is irreversibly destroyed. There are no standard options to preserve the fertility of boys and girls who are not yet producing mature eggs or sperm. For these young patients, The Fertility Preservation Program of Pittsburgh is approved to freeze testicular or ovarian tissue that might be used in the future to restore fertility when experimental techniques emerge from the research pipeline. For more information on standard and experimental options for preserving fertility please visit http://www.mwrif.org/220 or call (412-641-7475).
Fertility Preservation
Patients seeking fertility preservation services should visit our Freezing Center Network pages for more information and a list of facilities which provide semen cryopreservation services for fertility preservation and\or oncology patients.
Disposition Options
Contact RTL for options for final disposition of semen specimens once your sperm banking needs have ended.
