National Sperm Freeze Program

Sperm cryopreservation at Sperm Bank, Inc.

Every young man diagnosed with cancer is at a great risk of becoming infertile due to treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. Though many successfully fight the cancer, the thought of potential future children often gets overlooked as the focus is completely turned towards the fight for survival.

The Fertility Center of California (FCC) has developed a sperm cryopreservation kit,which can be delivered to a patient anywhere in the US.

Sperm Cryopreservation Kit

The kit contains the materials and instructions necessary for patients to produce a usable sperm sample at home or in the hospital.

The charge is $725 for processing, freezing, and storage of the specimen for one year. The storage cost of each subsequent year is $350.00. The frozen sperm can remain potent for decades.

The kit is designed to eliminate a dilemma facing some men: whether to postpone treatment while pursuing sperm preservation. Gathering information about sperm preservation, where and how to do it, how to ship off a specimen if no sperm bank is nearby can take a few days. That could delay treatment of some fast-growing cancers. With this technology available a patient can preserve his child-bearing options in a matter of hours.

Fertility Center of California is dedicated to increasing fertility options for young cancer patients. Financially strapped patients can apply for discounts through our clinic and grants through various organizations such as Fertile Hope and the Lance Armstrong foundation.

Order your Cryopreservation Kit today!

Frequently Asked Questions about the Cryopreservation Kit

What is the kit and how does it work?
FCC has developed a unique collection and preservation kit to make it possible for men to send their specimen from anywhere in the continental United States. Each kit comes complete with the necessary forms, detailed instructions, transport solution and return shipping labels. The solution is added to the specimen after collection. Overnight delivery assures that FCC receives and processes the semen specimen within 24 hours.

Is banking my sperm at an on-site clinic better than by mail?
FCC cannot guarantee the quality of the specimen, which depends on many factors including the sample produced and transit. Due to these factors, banking on site at a clinic will likely produce a higher quality specimen than banking by mail. However, using kit is an effective alternative to sperm banking on site and eliminates any treatment delay for you. In addition, it makes it easy to coordinate with your therapy and allows you the privacy of collecting the specimen in a place where you feel comfortable.

How and when do I collect my specimen?
Manual stimulation (masturbation) is the acceptable method of obtaining the specimen. In order to obtain the best specimen for freezing, it is recommended that you abstain from any ejaculation for at least 48-72 hours. It is also important that you do not abstain for more than 5 days. If you ejaculate too frequently or have too much time between ejaculations, your sperm quality may drop. The time between collection and freezing at FCC is also critical. You should arrange to collect the specimen as close as possible to the time of return shipment. More detailed information is provided in the kit.

How do I ship the kit?
The return shipment should be made using the provided pre-paid Priority Overnight service label. You must take the kit to UPS between Monday and Thursday. FCC is not open to receive shipments on Saturday or Sunday and you should contact FCC for our holiday schedule. Specimens must be collected the same day that they are shipped. More detailed information is in the enclosed instructions sheet.

How payment is collected and how much does it cost?
Payment is required when the specimen is received by FCC for processing. The cost of the kit includes shipping, processing, and storage. FCC will not process or store specimens if payment is not received. Payment can be made with check, debit or credit card
The total cost of the kit is $725. This fee includes the following:

the kit and shipping,
processing, analysis, and freezing
Storage for one year.*

The cost for additional kits shipped within 30 days is $425. This price also includes the kit, shipping, processing, analysis, freezing and one year of storage.

*Monthly storage plans and discount long term storage plans are also available for the client's selection. For details on cost and payment options, contact FCC at (888) 951-CRYO. Financial assistance programs to help with the costs of sperm banking may also be available.

What is infectious disease screening and why is it required to bank my sperm?
Clients who bank sperm for future use are required by regulatory agencies to have testing for infectious diseases. In strict compliance with industry standards, separate bio-hazardous storage is maintained for specimens that have tested positive for infectious diseases.
Testing includes ALL of the following:

HIV 1 & 2 (AIDS) Antibody
Hepatitis B Surface Antigen
Hepatitis C Viral Antibody
HLV 1& 2
RPR

More information about testing is in the enclosed instructions sheet.

What does FCC do once it receives my specimen?
Upon receiving your shipment and before freezing your specimen, FCC will do a quality analysis. This analysis will determine the number of sperm, as well as the motility (activity) and morphology (shape) of the sperm. Based on the information from the analysis, FCC will divide the specimen into vials to be used later to attempt pregnancy. FCC will only store specimens that show viable sperm cells. Additionally, FCC freezes a small sample of your specimen separate from the rest and thaws it the next business day. On this small sample, they perform a post-thaw analysis to determine how well your specimen survives the freezing process. With current reproductive technology, very few sperm are needed to produce a successful pregnancy. Based on the analysis results of the first sample, you may choose to bank additional deposits.

How is my specimen stored?
FCC provides effective storage and maintenance of specimens until you decide to use them for achieving pregnancy or terminate the storage agreement. Storage tanks are inspected daily to replenish liquid nitrogen. While the entire system operates independently of electricity, the premises and tanks are constantly monitored to assure proper storage conditions as well as overall building security. Staff is on call 24 hours each day. If you plan to store your sperm for many years, contact FCC to find out about long term, pre-paid storage. This can help to reduce the storage costs over an extended period of time.

How do I use my banked sperm after treatment?
When you are ready to use your frozen specimens, you can request to have them shipped to your physician, usually a reproductive endocrinologist. Release forms are required for shipping of specimens. You should contact FCC with at least one week notice to ensure all processes are in place for the shipping and protection of your vials. There is a small fee for shipping. FCC uses specially designed transport canisters to preserve the specimen's frozen state.