Why Bank Sperm as a
Testicular Cancer Patient? About Sperm Banking...
Why bank
sperm? If you are about to start treatment for testicular cancer, we
encourage you to look into sperm banking before undergoing radiation or
chemotherapy, as both these treatments have a high likelihood of
destroying your fertility. The best way to maximize your chances of
conceiving genetic children down the road is to bank sperm prior to
treatment.
When sperm is frozen or "cryopreserved," the sperm
cells enter a state of suspended animation, and all sperm activity is
essentially halted until thawing. After thawing, a percent of the sperm
revive and return to the pre-freeze state. While the freezing process
will kill a significant percentage of sperm, the surviving sperm can be
thawed and used for insemination purposes as many as fifty years later.
Cryopreservation has been in used for many years and is a safe,
effective way to preserve sperm. According to the American Association
of Tissue Banks, cryopreservation does not appear to alter or damage
the genetic material in sperm.
You can either ask your oncologist to recommend a
sperm bank in your area, or you can locate banks online (see http://www.spermbankdirectory.com). Most
banks will ask you to provide a sperm sample on site through
masturbation in a private room. The banks medical technologists will
perform a semen analysis and process your sperm for cryopreservation
immediately. Even if your fertility has been compromised by ill health
and/or medical procedures such as an orchiectomy, it is well worth your
while to store what sperm you have. Similarly, even if you only have
time to make one visit to a sperm bank before starting treatment, we
encourage you to do so. There have been enormous advances in
reproductive technologies over the past ten years, and techniques such
as ICSI (intercytoplasmic sperm injection) make it possible for
successful in vitro fertilization to be achieved using a single sperm
cell.
Sperm storage is a simple, accessible, and
affordable way for male cancer patients of all ages to keep their
reproductive options open, yet oncologists do not always offer
counseling and education about fertility issues prior to cancer
treatment. One 1999 survey conducted by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation
found that only about 50% of cancer patients receive adequate
information about their post-treatment reproductive options, and that
only about 25% of men eligible to bank sperm do. Given that the
survival rate for testicular cancer is so high, quality of life issues
such as family building are relevant to literally millions of cancer
survivors.
This educational message is courtesy of The Sperm
Bank of California (http://www.thespermbankofca.org).
For more information on TSBC services please see our website or contact
us at info@thespermbankofca.org
or 510-841-1858.
Another
option for testicular cancer patients is the LIVE:ON sperm banking by mail kit. Click here for details.
Male Related Cancer Articles: Testicular Cancer |
|
