Whether you're planning or preparing for fertility treatment, sperm freezing can help preserve your future family-building options and ensure a sperm sample is available when it's needed.
Sperm freezing (cryopreservation) is a way to preserve your fertility by collecting and freezing sperm for future use. When you're ready to grow your family, frozen sperm can be thawed and used in fertility treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Sperm freezing can help preserve your fertility if you’re planning a medical treatment, procedure, or life event that could affect your ability to have biological children. You may consider freezing sperm if you’re planning a vasectomy, serving in the military or working in a high-risk occupation, or planning for parenthood later in life. It may also be recommended before chemotherapy or radiation for cancer, gender-affirming hormone therapy, or testosterone replacement therapy, or following a testicular injury or surgery.
When you're ready to grow your family, your frozen sperm can be used in a variety of fertility treatments.
If your treatment takes place at a different fertility center, your frozen sperm can be safely transferred. Before treatment, the sample is thawed and evaluated in the laboratory to confirm there are enough healthy, active sperm.
Your sperm can then be used in fertility treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)—just like a fresh sample.
From providing a sample to conceiving, your care team and embryologists work with you across the sperm freezing journey.
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Most patients provide a semen sample through masturbation, either at home or in the clinic. If needed, sperm can also be retrieved directly from the testicle or epididymis using a surgical procedures such as percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA), testicular sperm aspiration/extraction (TESA/TESE), or microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (microTESE).
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Your sample is analyzed in the laboratory to assess sperm quality and determine whether it's suitable for freezing.
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Healthy sperm are preserved using a specialized cryopreservation process designed to protect them for future fertility treatment.
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Frozen sperm is securely stored until it's needed for treatment. Short-term sperm freezing is available at some of our locations for patients actively undergoing IUI or IVF treatment when medically necessary. Please check with your location to confirm if this is available.
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Explore trusted guidance from our fertility experts to better understand sperm freezing and feel more confident about your next step.
Sperm freezing, also called cryopreservation, allows sperm to be collected and frozen for future use. Once frozen, sperm remain preserved until they're needed for fertility treatment, giving you more flexibility in your family-building timeline.
Some sperm do not survive the freezing and thawing process, which is a normal part of cryopreservation. Before freezing, your laboratory team evaluates your sample to assess sperm quality and determine how many vials can be preserved for future treatment.
Some sperm do not survive the freezing and thawing process, which is a normal part of cryopreservation. Before freezing, your laboratory team evaluates your sample to assess sperm quality and determine how many vials can be preserved for future treatment.
Frozen sperm can be used whenever you're ready to pursue fertility treatment. Depending on your treatment plan, it may be used for IUI, IVF, or ICSI, just like a fresh sperm sample.
