Embryo Cryopreservation

Embryo cryopreservation is a method used to preserve embryos by cooling and storing them at low temperatures. They can then be thawed at a future date and transferred to the uterus, providing additional opportunity for achieving conception.

As a part of the usual process of in vitro fertilization, multiple eggs may be stimulated to grow, recovered from the ovaries with ultrasound guidance, and fertilized. This may result in additional embryos in excess of the number that a couple would desire to have transferred back to the uterus. If the additional embryos are of sufficiently good quality to undergo the process of cryopreservation, this can be preformed in order to provide another opportunity for embryo transfer. That is, if the IVF fresh embryo transfer does not result in pregnancy, the frozen embryos can be subsequently thawed and transferred to the uterus in a hormonally controlled cycle. Alternatively, if the cycle is successful, the embryos can be stored for several years should the couple decide to attempt to have more children later on.

Worldwide, cryopreservation of human embryos has been shown to be a successful procedure and there are no reports of increased birth defects in pregnancies achieved through this process.

Semen Cryopreservation

The Andrology Laboratory offers a patient (or Client Depositor) Sperm Bank service for long-term storage of an individual’s sperm for reasons such as reduction in fertility potential, prior to chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy for male oncology, or prior to vasectomy. The Patient Sperm Bank is also used to store sperm extracted from the testes in the operating room, a procedure referred to as TESE (testicular sperm extraction). Sperm from a TESE procedure can be stored short-term or long-term for subsequent use with the ICSI-IVF procedure for pregnancy attempts.

Overnite Male Kit™: Patients who have difficulty traveling to our facility can now produce a sample at home and Federal Express® (FedEx®) their specimen(s) directly to the Andrology Laboratory using our OverNite Male Kit™. Semen samples are protected during shipment by a buffer media that protects the sperm. This process ensures the safe delivery of your specimen(s) to our laboratory for cryopreservation or testing.