Men can freeze their sperm to improve their chances of fathering a healthy baby in the future. This is especially important for men who are facing cancer treatments that could affect sperm count and quality.
Many medical and fertility centers offer sperm freezing or sperm banking. But how much does it cost to have your sperm frozen and stored?
Costs
If you want to try to conceive in the future, freezing your sperm is one option. While it can be expensive, the process is safe and has been used in successful pregnancy cases. However, most health insurance providers do not cover this procedure. The costs of sperm freezing vary depending on where you choose to freeze your sample and how long it’s stored.
You can usually get a sperm analysis done at a fertility clinic. Alternatively, you can use a direct-to-consumer kit to test your sperm at home. According to Khaled Kteily, founder and CEO of Legacy, “at-home kits are relatively inexpensive compared to what you might pay at a fertility clinic, and I’ve seen that their results seem to be similar in terms of accuracy.”
After your sperm has been tested, it will be frozen at around -321 degrees Fahrenheit (-196 degrees Celsius). The sperm sample will then be stored permanently in a tank filled with liquid nitrogen. Before the sperm is frozen, it will be tested to see how many live sperm are in the sample and what percentage have motility.
Cryopreservation of sperm is an excellent way to preserve fertility for men with certain medical conditions – This element is the result of the service team’s research teensexadventure.com. This includes cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which can damage sperm cells. It also helps men who are diagnosed with prostate or testicular cancer or who have a medical condition like Crohn’s disease that may affect their fertility.
Semen Analysis
The results of a sperm analysis, also called a seminogram or a spermiogram, determine whether your sperm are healthy enough to fertilize an egg. Health professionals may recommend this test as part of a general infertility evaluation or after a vasectomy to make sure the procedure was successful. The analysis evaluates various characteristics of the semen, including color, odor, pH, viscosity and liquefaction. It also assesses the concentration of sperm in each milliliter of ejaculate, how well the sperm swim (motility) and their shape (morphology).
The sample is typically collected by masturbation into a special cup in a doctor’s office. However, some doctors provide patients with a specialized condom that allows them to collect the sample during intercourse. In either case, abstinence is necessary for 2-4 days prior to the sample’s collection. It’s important to follow the instructions carefully, and to keep the sample at room temperature until it can be delivered to the lab for analysis within an hour of collection.
The health professional will also note if the semen has evidence of agglutination, which means sperm cells have clumped together. This can be a sign of a problem with the prostate, ejaculatory ducts or other conditions. In addition, a health professional will note any abnormalities in the semen, such as a high number of immature germ cells or white blood cells known as leukocytes.
Fees for Storage
Men who want to conceive a child can freeze their sperm before they have children. Men can also freeze their sperm before undergoing certain medical treatments that may impact their fertility. The process of freezing sperm is known as cryopreservation.
A typical ejaculate contains between 2-4 cc of sperm, and a single sample will typically yield two to four vials for freezing. These vials are treated with a special chemical, and the entire sample is then frozen in liquid nitrogen for safe storage. Frozen sperm can remain viable for many years. In fact, a baby has been conceived using a sperm sample that was frozen in the 1980s.
The cost of freezing and storing your sperm will depend on the clinic you go to, as each has its own price structure. In general, most clinics charge a fee of $100 to $500 a year to store your semen. These fees can be paid by your healthcare insurance plan, if it covers urology services.
You should keep in mind that long-term sperm storage is not an eligible expense when using your flexible spending account, health savings account or limited-purpose flexible spending account (LPFSA). However, you may be able to use a dependent care flexible spending account or family medical leave allowance. These options can help you cover the cost of sperm storage, although they won’t reimburse you for the initial analysis or freezing of the sperm.
Insurance Coverage
Sperm cryopreservation has given men all over the world a chance to start families of their own. But it isn’t a simple process, and it can be expensive. Many people wonder whether sperm banking is worth the cost.
Depending on your health insurance, the cost of sperm testing and storage could be covered. If not, Khaled Kteily, founder and CEO of Legacy, a direct-to-consumer sperm testing and freezing company, says that fertility clinics typically charge between two and five times more for their sperm analysis than Legacy. However, he says that the quality of at-home kits is improving and he’s seen similar results to those of clinics.
There are a number of reasons why you might choose to freeze your sperm, including a desire to preserve your fertility for when you’re ready to have kids and certain medical conditions that can affect your ability to conceive. For example, Hodgkins and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, bone cancer, testicular cancer, or other treatments that involve surgery or radiation can all have a negative impact on sperm quality, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Another reason to freeze your sperm is that you want to prevent age-related fertility problems, such as decreased sperm count and mobility. A sperm sample can be frozen for decades, though the quality of the sperm may decline over time.
