How is cryopreservation of sperm

For artificial insemination , cryopreservation of sperm is popular. With the help of long-term storage of seminal fluid, IVF is simplified. The activity and function of the ejaculate is maintained at the expense of low temperatures - cooling takes place with liquid nitrogen. The innovative storage method allows the recovery of living microorganisms even after ten years.

Why you need a freezing effect

Cryopreservation of sperm is recommended to people as a solution to the issue of infertility. The method becomes an outlet for women who do not want to come into contact with a sick man. Freezing is important when there is a risk of transmission of infection, but there is no threat for the future child.

Men can insure themselves in the future with existing health threats:

• Complications of chronic diseases of the genitourinary system;
• Advanced oncology;
• Upcoming surgery after injury;
• Disability.

People want to save biological material before the forthcoming operations, radiation or chemotherapy. Also, men choose laboratory freezing methods to insure a woman, before traveling to work with a high risk for life.

The method of vitrification preserves biological materials:

• Sperm;
• Embryos;
• Blood cells;
• internal organs;
• Eggs.

Cryopreservation of sperm in Moscow is gaining popularity due to availability. More and more clinics offer services to preserve biological materials. People begin to use the procedure as a source of income on condition of excellent health of the body. Donors are required for women and couples suffering from infertility.

Procedure Basics

Cells are protected from destruction by a special substance - a cryoprotectant. Without the use of a special substance, freezing would not have been so successful.

But on living organisms, when cryopreservation of sperm is carried out, negative factors also influence:

• The formation of ice crystals inside the cell from the liquid of the cells;
• As a consequence of the first factor, dehydration is observed.

To prevent the destruction of living cells, they are placed in solutions of cryoprotectants. Protection substances are divided into the following:

• Penetrating - eliminate the crystallization of the liquid inside the cells;
• Non-penetrating - become only an addition to the first type of protection, the purpose of which is to protect the cell from external negative factors.

The first group includes: ethylene glycol, dimethylsulfoxide, propylene glycol. Additional substances are: sucrose, ficoll. The reverse process of unfreezing is accompanied by measures to free living cells from the links with cryoprotectants.

Preparation and conduct of the procedure

Before the cryopreservation of sperm is carried out, a complete examination of the state of the donor organism is carried out. The main analysis of the evaluation of seminal fluid becomes spermogram. In the clinic, a trial test is performed to freeze the material of a man. This is required to verify the ability of the seed to recover after prolonged storage.

The so-called cryotest helps doctors evaluate the guarantee of obtaining healthy sperm. Additional tests are designed to protect the future child and his mother from infections:

• Herpes simplex virus;
• Hepatitis B and C;
• HIV infections;
• Syphilis.

At the request of the customer, a more complete donor survey can be conducted. Tests are conducted 20 minutes after the defrosting procedure. If all steps of the test were positive, the semen is mixed with solutions of cryoprotectants and placed in a special storage.

How the biomaterial is stored

In containers where the treated seminal fluid is located , a temperature of -196 ° C must be maintained. Suitable conditions are achieved with a certain substance - liquid nitrogen.

Cryopreservation of human sperm is carried out in polypropylene tubes (Dewar vessels), where the biomaterial is stored. The capsule itself is placed in a container with liquid nitrogen.

Long-term storage takes 3 years, at this time an agreement with the donor is made. It is allowed to move containers to other clinics at the discretion of the customer. To do this, you will need to confirm in writing the desire to transport frozen semen. The patient is given a document on the time of the release of the biomaterial.

The optimal period of storage of ejaculate is established, equal to three years. Exceeding time does not guarantee the preservation of quality biomaterial, since the process of internal changes in cells begins. The medicine does not yet have the capacity for indefinite freezing, so the donor decides either to keep the sperm in the container further, or to repeat the conservation procedure.

What determines the cost of the service

The prevalence of proposals from private clinics raises the problem of choosing an honest organization that conducts a qualitative procedure. Clinics can use the traditional method of freezing - this is a slow cryopreservation of sperm. The price of such a service differs slightly, but there are risks of damaging the ejaculate. More often there is a method of vitrification - the process of ultrafast conservation of biomaterial.

The average cost of the described service is about 10 400 rubles. And varies depending on the following factors:

• The prestige of the clinic, the number of services provided and positive feedback;
• Method of cryopreservation (slow freezing or vitrification);
• Term of the contract - with full payment for a long time, the cost is significantly reduced;
• Storage conditions (in a common reservoir or in a separate container).

For the storage of embryos for 1 month will have to pay 1,000 rubles., And the placement of material in the storage store for the same period will cost 4,000 rubles.

History of the occurrence of the method of freezing

Confidence in the procedure was born after the successful introduction of the cell and the birth of a healthy child in the Netherlands. The events date from 1984, when the cryopreservation of sperm was successfully tested. The technology has survived to our time, but there have been significant improvements in the process of freezing.

Artificial insemination still causes negative emotions in society. The most urgent questions are:

• Registration of the legal rights of the child, establishment of maternity and paternity;
• The ethical side of conception remains unnatural;
• The society of certain eastern groups is not ready for a new way of life.

But, despite the existing problems, people are increasingly resorting to cryopreservation as a method of preserving the health of the future baby.