I’m opening a sperm bank account!

“Dr. Chan told me ‘You’re probably not thinking about it right now, but you’re likely going to want to store some sperm because chemotherapy can affect your fertility down the road.’ I had other plans for my life at the time, but I did some research and decided I would definitely regret not doing it. So I made an appointment at the MUHC Reproductive Centre to have some of my sperm frozen.”

Greg Star was 22 years old when he suspected he had a tumour in his testicle. After his successful cancer treatment, Greg Star continued his graduate studies in Pathology – he now works in sales for a biotechnology company – and he got married. But perhaps the sweetest part to Star’s story is he is also a father.

“The happiest part of my day is when I wake up in the morning and get to play with my son Thomas, who was born nine months ago,” Star says. “I didn’t know if I was going to be fertile or not after my treatments. Fortunately, I was. But if I wasn’t, I see making the choice to freeze my sperm as a younger man was the best insurance policy for happiness there is.”

Continue reading his story here and that of his urologist Dr. Peter Chan here

Medically reviewed by Urologic Oncologist Dr. Robert J. Hamilton on 02/24/2022

What is sperm banking?

Sperm banking is the name for the collection and storage of semen. Semen is the fluid that contains sperm. Sperm banking is also known as sperm cryopreservation (freezing) or semen storage. Since some treatments can affect your fertility, collecting sperm before treatment means you might still be able to be a biological father in the future if you want to.

It’s a fairly easy and successful way for men who have passed puberty to store sperm for future use. If your doctor has not mentioned this option, you might have to bring it up yourself.

So, how do I supply that stuff… I meant my manhood?

There are many ways to collect samples, but for the purpose of this article, we chose the easy way! So, for instance, you could provide a semen sample by masturbating. Masturbation is usually done in a private room at a sperm bank facility, or arrangements are made for you to bring a sample collected at home into the lab.

In sperm banking, you will provide one or more samples of your semen. Once the sperm bank gets the sample, they test it to see how many sperm cells it contains (this is the sperm count), what percentage of the sperm are able to swim (which is called motility), and what percentage have a normal shape (called morphology). The sperm cells are then frozen and stored. Once sperm is stored, it’s usually good for decades.

You are wondering if using cryopreserved sperm increases the risk of birth defects? The answer is no. Among thousands of children who have been conceived with frozen sperm, the incidence of birth defects has been no different than that among children conceived through sexual intercourse.

If you decide that freezing your sperm is important and actually go through with this option, it will be your responsibility to follow through with the politics of the reproductive center, including: consent forms, yearly fees, and raising your hand stating “please continue preserving my fatherhood and my little guys until I‘m ready to be a father!”

Questions to ask

Here are some suggestions for questions you might like to ask your doctor (and the reproductive center you may be referred to) about your testicular cancer treatment and sperm banking:

Will my treatment make me infertile?
Can I have sperm banking?
Where do I go to give a sperm sample?
Do I have to pay for sperm banking?
If I have to pay, how much will it cost for collection and storage?
How soon after my treatment can I have tests to find out whether I can have a child naturally?

Take the necessary time to visit each of our pages on this website to familiarize yourself with the disease. Do you have questions or concerns? Above all, do not hesitate. Contact us via Messenger on our Facebook page. It’s simple, free and confidential.

Video to review
Get To Know Your Balls
Let’s Talk Balls

Pages of our site that might interest you
Want to know more? Just click on the link below.
Treatment

TCC news that may interest you
Each month, we publish a blog article. Here are a few for you.
What happens if I lose both balls to cancer?
How to boost my sperm?
Can I make babies naturally?

Sources and References
MUHC Reproductive Centre
ReproMed - The Toronto Institute for Reproductive Medicine
UHN: A Courageous Journey...
Public Health Agency of Canada Services: Fertility

ADMINMarch 18, 2022Comment