Sperm and embryos can be routinely frozen (Cryopreserved) at ARMS. These tissues can be stored indefinitely in liquid nitrogen for use at a future date.
Embryo Freezing
The first frozen embryo baby was born in 1984. Embryo freezing is a well-established form of assisted conception treatment. Surplus embryos from a treatment cycle of IVF can be frozen and later thawed for additional opportunities for a pregnancy. Freezing of embryos not only gives you extra chances for a pregnancy, but it also allows us to transfer fewer fresh embryos as we can rely on pregnancies from frozen embryos. This makes the treatment safer for you and your future babies.
ARMS is committed to providing you with the highest chance for a pregnancy while also reducing your risks for multiples. Our blastocyst (day 5) freezing program is very successful. These blastocyst embryos have an implantation rate that is about double that of a day 3 embryo.
We also have many successes from embryos frozen at other clinics and then brought to us for expert thawing and transfer.
Sperm Freezing
Freezing of sperm is a routine procedure at ARMS. We not only freeze sperm for future use in inseminations, but also for use in sperm injection. This means we freeze sperm from the ejaculate and sperm retrieved from the testis. Working with a urologist, we can extract sperm even from cases where men have no sperm in the ejaculate. This sperm can then be used in IVF for the production of embryos and subsequent implantation.
ARMS is on of the few infertility clinics in Arizona to offer sperm freezing and counseling services to men being treated for cancer. If you are diagnosed with cancer and are concerned about preserving your future fertility, an ARMS clinician will help you decide the best way to accomplish that.
