Although La Jolla IVF is not a “sperm bank” in the sense that we do not provide frozen anonymous sperm samples for reproductive treatments, we do store frozen sperm under certain circumstances for potential patients and for patients undergoing reproductive treatments at our center. There are in fact a number of situations that may lead to the necessity for sperm to be cryopreserved (frozen) and stored in our laboratory for future use.

Sperm Cryopreservation and Storage Process:
The process itself of providing sperm for our laboratory to freeze is simple and painless. It involves just a few trips to our facility at which time some blood tests will be performed for infectious disease testing and then the patient will produce a semen sample to be frozen. A private room is provided for the purpose of sperm production and is equipped with magazines and DVD’s so as to make the process of production as private and easy as possible.

The following are the circumstances under which we recommend sperm cryopreservation and storage:

1. Prior to a Vasectomy: The option to store some sperm prior to a vasectomy can give men peace of mind that should their circumstances in life change, at some point in the future they can still have children using their frozen sperm. This option prevents the need for reversal surgeries and the chances are higher of achieving a pregnancy using the frozen sperm.
2. Prior to an Assisted Reproductive procedure such as IVF: Storing sperm prior to an IVF, egg donor or surrogate cycle ensures the availability of sperm should the male partner have difficulty producing a sample on the day of egg retrieval or should the male not be available to produce a fresh sample because of traveling or various other personal reasons.
3. Prior to testicular or prostate surgery: The option to freeze and store semen samples prior to testicular surgery or prostatectomy could preserve a male’s future reproductive potential if the surgery resulted in sterility.
4. Prior to undergoing cancer therapy: Many common cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation, and /or chemotherapy may permanently affect the patients’ ability to father children. Freezing sperm prior to or in the early stages of treatment offers the patient the possibility of fathering children later in life at a time when the cancer has been cured. Cryopreserved sperm can remain viable for decades. In fact pregnancies have been reported with sperm that has been stored for over 20 years. La Jolla IVF had a patient who transferred sperm to our laboratory that had been frozen for approximately 15 years and we used this sperm in an IVF cycle that resulted in the birth of twins. Several months ago, a young male of 16 years old who was going to undergo chemotherapy for lymphoma, came to store some sperm at our facility and his parents told us how much the fact that he was able to save some sperm meant to him and in fact they believe the peace of mind he got from this helped him go through the chemotherapy without having to worry about never being able to have children.
5. For males with low sperm concentration (oligozoospermia patients): Sperm banking may be helpful for men who have low sperm concentration. Several previously banked sperm samples can be “pooled” to increase the sperm concentration for an insemination cycle thereby increasing the chances of pregnancy. In extreme cases “pooled” samples can be used in IVF cycles as well.
6. For high-risk careers or occupations: Some occupations can put men at risk for infertility due to injury of their reproductive system.

• Professional athletes such as football, soccer, hockey or basketball players run a high risk of testicular injury which could result in impaired fertility. We have many professional athletes who have chosen to freeze and store semen samples with our laboratory.
• First responders, including firemen, policemen, border patrol officers and highway patrol officers who may be prone to accidents which could result in testicular injury.
• Men in military service. San Diego is a military town and we have responded to the needs of this community by helping men in the military especially those who are being deployed, to come and save some sperm before leaving for active military service. We have had some patients whose husbands leave sperm before being deployed so that their wives can undergo IVF while they are away.
• Workers in nuclear environments or who are exposed to high doses of X-rays.
• Men who are exposed to environmental toxins such as lead, pesticides, herbicides, radiation and some chemicals.

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