You are wishing to store sperm at Monash IVF because you are receiving treatment for a serious medical condition that may permanently damage your testes and their ability to produce sperm. It is possible to freeze and store sperm for many years. In some cases semen parameters, such as count and motility, may be impaired at the time of freezing due to the effects of general ill health (e.g. fevers) associated with your disease.

After Cancer Treatment Begins

You have informed our staff that you have already commenced treatment with either radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy.

Some laboratories would decline to store such sperm because of concerns that the treatment you have already received may have damaged your sperm and could have adverse effects for any children born using that sperm.

The possibility of such sperm damage maybe affected by the type, dose and duration of treatment that you have already received. Furthermore, there may not be reliable information available about the risks to your sperm that may have resulted from your particular type of treatment. Nonetheless it may be possible in the future to use your sperm for fertility treatments, such as insemination of your partner or an IVF procedure.

It is possible that the sperm in your ejaculate may soon disappear permanently as a result of your treatments.

Therefore immediate sperm storage may represent a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to give you the possibility of future parenthood. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that pregnancy will result from any treatment. There are many known and many unknown reasons why it can be difficult to achieve a pregnancy.

The purpose of this information is to simply inform you that there is some question about the safety of using this stored sperm, and that you and your partner should seek the most expert advice prior to commencing any future treatments.

In agreeing to store your sperm, Monash IVF provides no guarantee as to the capability of the stored sperm to result in a pregnancy or to affect a pregnancy, nor can it be held liable for any abnormality of a child resulting from the use of the stored sperm.

Responsibilities

In the meantime, Monash Reproductive Pathology and Genetics will be pleased to continue to store your sperm. It is important that you remain in contact with the laboratory and inform us of any change of address or your desire to continue to store sperm. Failure to do so could result in disposal of your frozen semen. The NHMRC Ethical guidelines on the use of assisted reproductive technology in clinical practice and research 2004 currently specify the length of storage and potential uses of stored semen (refer to NHMRC website www.nhmrc.gov.au) These guidelines may alter over time.

State legislation and regulation dictate that semen may not be stored or used for fertility treatment in the case of death unless a signed witnessed directive exists. It is strongly recommended that signed witnessed written information, relating to your desires for storage or use of your semen in the unfortunate case of death, be prepared and stored at your earliest convenience. You may wish to seek legal advice regarding this matter.

We will also write to your doctor to give him similar information, so that he has a permanent record of this understanding. Please feel free to ask any questions that you might have and we will do our best to give you the best advice possible.

Semen Collection

Semen specimens are usually produced by masturbation into a small sterile container. Specimens may be collected at MRPG collection facilities or off site providing the specimen can be delivered to the laboratory within 45 minutes. Please contact our staff directly if your circumstances require alternate arrangements.

It is recommended that you have another semen analysis about 2 years after you complete your treatment. If the analysis is satisfactory, you may wish to cease storage. With the advances in assisted reproductive technology, it is now possible to achieve pregnancies with very low sperm counts by injecting a single sperm into a single egg. This technique is called Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) and may be required, along with in vitro fertilization (IVF) to achieve a pregnancy.

Any future fertility treatment should be discussed with an infertility specialist.

Storage

To minimise the risks of viral contamination during storage it is necessary to have screening tests performed for Hepatitis B & C and HIV (AIDS). Your specialist might have already performed these, otherwise we will organise testing for you.

Costs

Semen freezing and storage fee information is available from MRPG. Costs include semen analysis, freezing and 6 monthly storage.

Other Reading Matter

Additional information may be obtained from the Andrology Australia website www.andrologyaustralia.org