Sperm freezing

Sperm freezing, also known as sperm cryopreservation, is the process of collecting a man’s sperm, rapidly cooling using a technique called vitrification and then storing in liquid nitrogen for future use.  

After freezing, the sperm can be used in treatment cycles such as IUI and IVF or can be donated to a bank for use in another person’s treatment.

It’s important to know that this doesn’t guarantee a future pregnancy.

But it does let you try treatment at the right time for you.

How does sperm freezing work?

With sperm freezing, you’ll firstly need to be screened for any infectious diseases such as HIV or hepatitis C. The results of these tests will have no bearing on whether you can freeze your sperm or not but will ensure that any affected sperm samples are stored separately to prevent the contamination of other samples.  

You’ll also be required to provide written, informed content to your sperm being stored and specify how long you want it to be stored for.  

At the clinic, you’ll be asked to produce a fresh sample of sperm (if you’re able), which will be mixed with a cryoprotectant to protect the sperm from damage during freezing.

If you’re unable to produce a fresh sample of sperm, we can also retrieve it using a procedure called surgical sperm retrieval.  

Before freezing, the sperm sample will be divided into separate containers so that not all the sperm needs to be thawed at once and can be used in multiple treatments (if required). The samples are then rapidly cooled and stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen.

UK law permits you to store your sperm for use in treatment for up to 55 years from the date they are first placed in storage, however, you must renew your consent every ten years.

We’ll reach out when this renewal date approaches so you don’t need to worry about missing it. 

Fertility treatment using frozen sperm is just as successful as treatment using fresh sperm. However, it's important to know that not all sperm will survive the freezing and thawing process.