Fertility preservation

The Sims IVF Fertility Preservation Programme gives women and men the opportunity to conceive a child in the future, if their fertility is at risk due to medical illness or they want to proactively preserve fertility for social reasons.      

What are my fertility preservation options?

Fertility preservation options for women include freezing eggs or embryos. Fertility preservation options for men include sperm freezing.

What is egg freezing?

Egg freezing is the process of extracting, freezing and storing a woman's eggs so that they may be used to conceive a child at a later date.  There are no absolute guarantees but egg freezing does give a woman the opportunity to try for a baby in the future.

What is embryo freezing?

If you have a partner you may choose to freeze embryos for future fertility treatment. Which involves undergoing an IVF cycle to retrieve the eggs which are then fertilised in the laboratory and the resulting embryos are stored. It is important to note that where embryos are created, both partners have the right to veto future use of the embryos. This serious consequences of this should be considered as it could result in you losing access to your own reproductive material.

What is sperm freezing?

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can affect your sperm production – sometimes this is temporary but in other cases it may be permanent. Before you begin treatment, some of your semen, containing sperm, can be frozen and kept until you wish to start a family. Men who have to travel overseas or work in dangerous situations may also want to have their sperm frozen for use in the future. We collect samples in a private room in the clinic, so our scientists can prepare and freeze the sperm as soon as possible

Fertility preservation for medical reasons

The main reason you may need to consider fertility preservation is the risk of damage to your sperm, eggs or ovaries as a result of treatment for a serious medical illness, such as chemotherapy drugs or radiotherapy for cancer. Find out more about emergency medical fertility preservation >

Fertility preservation for social reasons

Women may also consider fertility preservation if they want to have a child later in life and are worried about the effect of age on fertility. Find out more about social egg freezing >

To find out about female fertility preservation options, please book an appointment with a Sims IVF fertility specialist or contact us.