Cryopreservation

In special cases it may be necessary to preserve sperm for subsequent artificial insemination. To this end, we offer the cryopreservation of sperm from the ejaculate or from testicular  biopsies. This may be necessary for  patients with previous diseases of the genitals or genetic diseases as the cause for insufficient or no intact sperm found in the ejaculate. With the help of a simple surgery may be pieces of tissue can been taken from the testis, or from the liquid of the epididymis. This material can be prepared in our laboratory and be frozen at -180 ° C in liquid nitrogen.
Cryopreservation also enables the storage of a normal ejaculate as procreation reserve. This applies to men with cancer and impending chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Because these forms of therapy may damage the gametes (sperm), it is advisable to freeze sperm before the cancer treatment is started. For this, we offer short-term appointments in our practice . The costs for cryopreservation are usually not covered by the public health insurance and probably have to be paid by the patient. For informations on the costs of treatment, please contact us.

After a successful IVF or ICSI therapy it is possible, to freeze supernumerary fertilized oocytes and to preserve them for a later transfer back into the uterus. Unfortunately because of the embryo protection law in Germany it is not allowed to freeze cleavage stage embryos (except in emergency cases). This must be accomplished in the stage of the visible male and female pronucleus. The advantage of the storage of cryopreserved pronuclei stages is that for the transfer of the thawed pronuclei a significantly milder hormonal stimulation compared to the IVF or ICSI cycle is required. Thus the stress for your body is mean and the costs for the therapy are lower. The costs for the cryopreservation unfortunately are not covered by the most health insurances and hence must be financed privately.

Ovarian Tissue
Under certain circumstances it can be necessary to take out tissue from the ovaries and to preserve this for later treatments. This can be the case i.e. in cancer diseases that involve a high-dose chemo or radio therapy. By this treatment the biological activity of the ovaries as well as the quality of the residing so called primordial follicles are impaired. To preclude this it is possible to remove some tissue in an uncomplicated i.e. laparoscopic surgery to re-transplant it after healing has occurred. Consequently a conservation of the female fertility - especially for very young patients - is possible. Unfortunately the methods of re-transplantation and subsequent successful stimulation of the follicles are still under development. As in this field intensive research activities are running the introduction of a successful technology will be probable in the next years.