While egg freezing has now become a popular consideration among women in their 30s, sperm freezing, too, is gaining momentum among couples who spend large amounts of time apart, according to Dr Sulbha Arora, consultant in reproductive medicine at the Nova IVI Fertility. In a one-on-one, she tells DNA more about the trend:
When do doctors suggest sperm freezing?
Sperm freezing is not a technique men opt for due to age passing them by. They continue to produce quantity sperms in terms of count and motility. However, there are other reasons. For a couple undergoing (In Vitro Fertilisation) IVF treatment, a frozen sperm sample is kept as a backup before staring treatment. Men diagnosed with cancer and about to start chemotherapy may also need the procedure since it would damage the sperm cells.
In what instances do couples opt for it?
We get requests from someone who is in merchant navy and touches shore only once in six months. The wife gets only one cycle to try for a baby and it naturally takes very long. In such cases we freeze the sperms so even while the husband is away we can continue to try the treatment with the wife. We’ve also had cases where the husband had to travel abroad and the wife needed to undergo an IVF, so we froze his sperms before he left.
Is there a rise is the number of couples opting for sperm freezing for reasons like long-distance marriages?
We get one such case at least once in two months. There is definitely a rise in the numbers compared to five years ago, because of better awareness levels.
What is the demography of such patients?
These are usually younger and more educated couples where men are okay with the wife continuing treatment in their absence. Generally, couples are worried about what people will say if the wife were to conceive during her husband’s absence as they are not comfortable disclosing that are undergoing fertility treatment. There are certain sections of the populations where infertility is still a big social stigma.
What factors that affect sperm quality?
Lifestyle factors such as smoking and earlier onset of metabolic problems such as diabetes can lead to fertility problems in both men and women. In men who smoke, there is a drop in the sperm count, and an increase in the number of sperms with fragmented DNA. This usually gives rise to weaker embryos, which may not implant or lead to a successful pregnancy.
- Average age of couples opting for the procedure 28-35
- Duration for which sperms can be frozen 10-15yrs
- Cost Rs 3,000 for two years
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