Given that the survival rate for testicular cancer is so high, quality of life issues are very important to millions of survivors. If you have not been given information about sperm banking, and you may want to father children in the future, please discuss it with your doctor or nurse. Please discuss this option before starting radiation or chemotherapy and before surgery as these treatments are likely to cause infertility.
 
If you are interested, you should call the fertility center as soon as possible. Locally the center is Infertility & In Vitro Fertilization Medical Associates of WNY. Their phone number is 716-839-3057.
 
If you decide to participate, you first need some blood tests to rule out certain infectious diseases, such as hepatitis.  If these are negative, you will need to provide a sperm sample, which will be analyzed and processed. After your sperm is collected, cryopreservation (freezing), stops all its activity, until it is thawed out. Freezing kills most of the sperm, but the survivors may be usable for many years. Sperm storage is fairly simple, accessible, and affordable. There have been enormous advances in reproductive technologies over the past ten years and it is now possible to fertilize an egg in vitro with a single sperm cell (intercytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI).
 
Sharing Hope is a program from Fertile Hope to help increase access to egg, embryo, and sperm freezing for newly diagnosed cancer patients whose medical treatments present the risk of infertility. They provide discounted sperm banking services, access to fertility medication, and discounted egg and embryo freezing services. Contact Fertile Hope at 888-994-HOPE.