Institute offers sperm banking for men in danger of losing fertility
Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tracy Carbasho
Fertility experts want men to know that banking their sperm can serve as a unique life insurance policy.
In particular, they advise men who have been diagnosed with cancer to consider sperm banking prior to undergoing potentially sterilizing chemotherapy or radiation treatments.
This is an especially important consideration for young men in their peak reproductive years of their 20s and 30s who do not have children or who want to continue growing their families.
"When a young man hears that he has cancer, a lot of things go through his mind about how he is going to survive," said Dr. Scott Kauma, program director at the Jones Institute at West Penn Allegheny Health System in Bloomfield. "Banking his sperm is not a priority at that point."
The local institute, an affiliate of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine of the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va., provides diagnosis and infertility treatment for men and women.
Cryo-preservation, commonly called sperm banking, involves processing semen specimens, adding a cryo-protectant and submersing the specimens in liquid nitrogen for storage. Cryo-preservation does not guarantee reproductive success, but fertility specialists say it provides a reasonable chance of producing a pregnancy.
The most common cryo-preservation method is slow cooling to dehydrate the sperm cells before they are frozen. Samples can be kept frozen in liquid nitrogen for hundreds of years because the sperm cells remain in a state of suspended animation.
The storage containers are heavily insulated to maintain the liquid nitrogen temperature, which typically is minus 219 degrees Celsius.
Kauma said the institute does not have a high volume of male cancer patients as clients, but does see one or two men per month who want to freeze their sperm before proceeding with treatment. The institute is reaching out to local oncologists in hopes that they, in turn, will educate their patients.
"Once a man is diagnosed with cancer, it's a good idea for him to get as many samples banked as possible if he wants to father children," said Kauma. "The majority of men with testicular can-
cer or a blood cancer, such as leukemia or lymphoma, should anticipate impairment of fertility. The prevalence of infertility depends on the type of cancer, the man's age and the amount and type of radiation or chemotherapy that is used."
Chemotherapy is designed to kill rapidly dividing cells throughout the body. Since both cancer cells and sperm cells divide rapidly, damage to the testicles can occur. Radiation therapy also kills rapidly dividing cells, but only in or near its target area.
Therefore, radiation focusing on the pelvic area is likely to damage the testicles. The sperm cells may or may not recover following treatment.
"Banking the sperm acts as a life insurance policy," said Dr. Carl Bruning, a urologist who practices at Suburban Urologic Associates in Monroeville.
He noted there are other circumstances not related to cancer that prompt some men to bank their sperm. For example, men who are having a vasectomy often opt to set aside some of their sperm in case they change their mind about fathering children.
Other candidates for sperm banking include military servicemen who are going to war, men who work at dangerous jobs and those whose jobs take them away from their partners for long periods of time.
"Between 15 and 20 percent of couples have trouble conceiving, and 40 percent of the time, there is a male factor involved," Bruning said. "The man should be evaluated as soon as the woman."
However, insurance carriers do not pay for sperm banking services. The Jones Institute charges a one-time initial consultation fee of $84, a semen analysis fee of $100 and a sperm cryo-preservation fee of $250. After one year of storage, clients pay a $25 monthly storage fee.
Tracy Carbasho is a freelance writer.
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