For some boys and young men with cancer, it‘s possible to store sperm before starting treatment. This is known as sperm banking. The sperm can be used later as part of fertility treatment to make a baby.
For young women who are having periods, it may be possible to collect eggs before treatment starts. For those with a partner, the eggs can then be fertilised with sperm from their partner and the resulting embryos frozen for future use. Sometimes it’s possible to store unfertilised eggs. However, at the moment, the storage of unfertilised eggs is still an experimental procedure and the chances of using them to achieve a successful pregnancy in later fertility treatment are very low.
Sometimes it’s possible to store ovarian tissue or testicular tissue so that it can be used as part of fertility treatment. However, at the moment, these procedures are new and are not very likely to lead to a successful pregnancy. Your cancer doctor can give you information about any of these procedures if you want to know more about them or you can ask to see a doctor from a fertility treatment centre.
It can be very distressing if you find that it’s not possible to store eggs or ovarian tissue. You can talk about your feelings with people from some of the organisations listed in the resources section.
Your experiences
Fertility
Robert (Leukaemia (ALL), 20, M, England) , tip added: 04/05/2005
Make sure before you HAVE ANY CHEMO you ask about fertililty i was not unforntuatly told until last minut you may be able to store sperm ect.
