Fertility Preservation

What is fertility preservation?

Fertility preservation keeps your option of having children open if you’re not able or ready to start a family.

For various personal, medical, or career reasons, many people postpone parenthood until they’re in their late 30s or 40s. If you believe you may want a family someday, CARE Fertility can help you preserve your fertility until you’re ready.

What fertility preservation treatments are available to men?

Fertility preservation for men uses semen cryopreservation, which involves freezing and storing semen. After thawing, your doctor at CARE Fertility can use the sperm for in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination.

Men need to undergo infectious disease screening before semen cryopreservation. You also need a referring physician’s order, but if you don’t have one, the CARE Fertility team gladly sets up an initial consultation with one of their providers.

What fertility preservation treatments are available for women?

Women have several fertility preservation options, including:

Embryo cryopreservation

Embryo cryopreservation involves freezing fertilized eggs. The woman undergoes ovarian stimulation to encourage egg production and provide plenty of eggs for retrieval. 

The eggs go to CARE Fertility’s embryology lab, where they’re mixed with the partner’s sperm. The embryos resulting from fertilization undergo fast freezing for later use.

Egg freezing

Egg freezing or oocyte cryopreservation also involves ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, but not fertilization. Eggs that survive the freezing and thawing process undergo fertilization later in the embryology lab with a partner’s or donor’s sperm.

Can I undergo fertility preservation if I have cancer?

Whether you’re at risk of becoming infertile because of cancer or you’re already unable to conceive or carry a child, CARE Fertility offers hope to cancer patients that they can still become parents. Fertility preservation options like egg and embryo freezing are available at special rates for many patients.

The CARE Fertility team works closely with your oncologist and surgeon to determine which treatment is best for you. Newly diagnosed cancer patients can attend a fast-track consultation for fertility preservation before having surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy.

Cancer survivors who can’t produce sperm or eggs may want to take advantage of CARE Fertility’s donor sperm, eggs, and embryos. Female cancer survivors who can’t conceive or carry a baby to term can use CARE Fertility’s gestational carrier (surrogacy) services.

To find the fertility preservation method that suits your situation, call CARE Fertility now or book an appointment online today.