If your male partner is considering fertility preservation, sperm freezing is a popular option. While the concept of sperm is similar to egg freezing in terms of freezing gametes, the process is different. Freezing sperm is much quicker and less costly than freezing eggs, and it is not as taxing on the body in terms of needing injection medications or undergoing a procedure for retrieval. This answer addresses what can impact sperm quality, fresh vs frozen sperm efficacy, and the similarities and differences between fertility preservation in men and women.
I'm freezing my eggs. Should my husband/fiancé/partner freeze his sperm now?
The short answer is yes! Just like eggs, sperm’s best day is today, and its quality will only decline with age. Freezing sperm is like taking out an insurance policy on your fertility — it ensures that whenever you’re ready to have kids, the highest quality sperm is available for use right away.
What can impact sperm quality?
Lifestyle factors play a big role in sperm quality. Alcohol use, heat exposure, even sleep patterns can affect sperm health. Learn more about lifestyle factors and sperm health.
In addition to everyday lifestyle factors, sperm quality is impacted by medical treatments like testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and chemotherapy. Sperm health is impacted by age. Male fertility declines with each passing year, especially after 35. Around age 40, the risk of having a child with birth defects increases dramatically. Paternal age can also affect your chances of miscarriage, preterm birth, and other pregnancy complications. Read more about sperm quality and age.
How are egg freezing and sperm freezing similar? How do they differ?
Unlike egg freezing, sperm freezing is a completely non-invasive process. It only requires a semen sample, typically produced via masturbation, to be deposited at a lab or through a mail-in service like Legacy. From there, the lab uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the sample at -196ºC, and it’s stored in a cryogenic lab until a withdrawal is requested. Sperm freezing does not require months of medications to prepare the body before collection. Prior ultrasound and labs are also not necessary, given that sperm analysis is done after the sample is collected.
If I use my frozen eggs for IVF, is there a difference between frozen and fresh sperm?
Research has found the chances of pregnancy with IVF are no less with frozen-thawed semen than with fresh. Another study demonstrated that pregnancy rates are equivalent when using frozen sperm in IVF with ICSI, compared to fresh.
Stephanie Sabourin is a nurse from Legacy with a decade of experience as a specialist in men’s health and male infertility and is certified in andrology. She previously worked at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where she was instrumental in building the men’s health department. She is a member of ASRM and WPATH.
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