Information For Patients

Men undergoing cancer treatment, including some type of chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery, face the possibility of temporary or permanent damage to their fertility. Physicians know which treatments are likely to cause a problem, but often cannot predict how severely a man's fertility may be affected by his cancer treatment, or for how long.

An option to preserve a man's potential to father his own children at some future time is to freeze, or cryopreserve, samples of sperm before cancer treatment begins. This process is called therapeutic sperm banking.

Therapeutic sperm banking is also available to men who are going to have a vasectomy, allowing them the chance to conceive a child in the future. Occasionally, therapeutic sperm banking is recommended in other situations when a man's fertility could be damaged by surgery, medical treatments or exposure to a toxic environment. If you are not sure whether a medical treatment could damage your fertility, please discuss the issue with your physician.

Fertile Hope is an excellent source of information about fertility preservation issues for cancer patients. For more information visit www.fertilehope.org

Please click here for Therapeutic Sperm Banking Guide.

Making the choice to bank sperm is very personal. If you are married or in a committed relationship, it is best if your partner is involved in your decision. If you are under the age of 18, your parents should be included in the discussion. Unfortunately, a man often has to make up his mind quickly, at a time when he may be facing a serious illness. We hope this will help you in making an informed choice.

• When should therapeutic sperm banking be started?
• Will banking sperm delay my treatment?
• What influences semen quality?
• Is it worth banking semen if the quality is not optimal?
• How many samples should be preserved?
• How long can the sperm be safely stored?
• Does using cryopreserved sperm increase the risk of birth defects?
• Will my children be healthy?
• If I am sexually active, should I use birth control during cancer treatment?
• For information on fertility options after cancer treatment, visit fertileHOPE at www.fertilehope.org.

The NextGen Home Sperm Banking Kit is a first-of-its kind product designed for men who wish to preserve their fertility for a variety of reasons. This can include
1) men with cancer who are about to undergo treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, which can render them infertile;
2) men with underlying subfertility;
3) men who are about to under a vasectomy but who do not want to totally rule out the option of fathering a biological child in the future and
4) military personnel going on long-term deployment whose partners may need a sperm sample for an assisted reproductive procedure while they are gone.

With this kit, patients collect a semen sample in the privacy of their own homes, place the sample into a vial containing preservative/transport media, and ship the samples overnight to the Cleveland Clinic Andrology Laboratory and Reproductive Tissue Bank for storage. All samples undergo a standard analysis that includes sperm count, motility and viability. These results are reported back to the patient within 2-3 days. Once stored, these samples can then be used in assisted reproductive procedures such as intra-uterine insemination, in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

This novel approach is advantageous in that it spares patients the need to spend time and money traveling to a remote clinical site as well as embarrassment and stress over having to produce a sample on demand in an unfamiliar setting. For more information on Cleveland Clinic’s NextGen^SM call 800-223-2273 or 866-9BANKIN.

Click here for: NextGen^TM Guide for Patients
 
Click here: Kit Preparation, Collection and Transportation Instructions