There are a number of reasons people look to preserve their fertility into the future. One reason is to preserve fertility before entering into cancer treatment, and another is for people who think their fertility may decline before they are ready to have children.

Sperm may be frozen as back up for fertility treatment, for people who think their fertility may decline before they are ready to have children, or as ‘insurance’ before a vasectomy.

Options for fertility preservation may exist prior to and after cancer treatment, however it is very important that if you have time before you start your treatment, you speak with a fertility specialist - to ensure you have the full picture.

The process

• During a vasectomy: sperm can sometimes be banked during a vasectomy reversal by taking sperm from the epididymis during the operation.

• Surgical sperm retrieval: sperm may be frozen for future use during surgical sperm retrieval (SSR). Sperm obtained in either of these ways will need to be used as part of IVF treatment using sperm microinjection (IMSI).

• Many treatments for cancer can have the potential to affect your ability to conceive naturally. This risk is influenced by the type and extent of your disease*.

• Sperm can be frozen and stored long-term for people who face losing their fertility due to medical treatments.

• *For more information about your individual fertility risk, please talk to your Oncologist, Urologist, Endocrinologist or other appropriate specialist.

There are two types of treatment when using frozen sperm - the choice depends on the number and quality of the sperm collected, and whether the cycle includes donor oocytes.

Sperm freezing is straight forward and many people will have enough sperm in one ejaculate for several IVF cycles. If there are enough good quality sperm after thawing then the first approach may be to try IUI treatment, keeping some sperm in reserve for IVF later if IUI is not successful. If you want to consider IUI as an option, you will almost certainly need to freeze three or more semen samples.

Women can preserve their fertility:

• Before cancer and other treatments that might impact fertility. Eggs, embryos and ovarian tissue can be frozen for people who face losing their fertility because of cancer treatment or another reason. We can offer fertility preservation at short notice prior to cancer treatment.

• egg freezing: for women who think their fertility may decline before they are ready to have children. The right time to try to have a baby depends on your unique circumstances. It's an incredibly personal decision. If you're not in a position to try for a baby now, egg freezing may be an option to help preserve your fertility. 

• embryo freezing: If a woman has a partner, it is better to freeze embryos than eggs. Embryo freezing has been around longer than egg freezing and clinics have a lot more experience with embryo freezing as it is part of routine IVF treatment.
• ovarian tissue cryopreservation: This technique involves removing one or both ovaries surgically and freezing thin slices of ovarian tissue. The slices are transplanted back to the woman once cancer treatment has finished.

Ask at your clinic about our egg freezing packages and our IVF packages.

Most people facing fertility preservation before treatment, (eggs, embryos or ovarian tissue), won’t have enough time to make changes to lifestyle or to follow the tips for becoming ‘fertility fit’ If you do have time before egg freezing, the key messages are:

• stop smoking

• take folic acid

• reduce caffeine and alcohol

• discuss medications with your doctor

Speak to our fertility specialists - our doctors are here when you want to explore issues arising from storing sperm, eggs, or embryos and when you need support.

• Storage time limit: Malaysia Medical Council guidelines limit storage of sperm, eggs or embryos to a maximum of five (5) years initially, which can be extended up to ten (10) years upon written request before you reach the ten year limit.
• Consent: You will need to sign a consent form as part of storing sperm, eggs or embryos.
• Contact information: So that we are able to contact you, it is important to keep your contact details up to date using the form below.
• Cryopreservation maintenance: Annual cryopreservation maintenance charges are applicable for storage of your sperm, eggs or embryos. We may discard material if you default in paying storage fees, or we can’t contact you after six (6) months.