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Updated: Aug 3, 2025
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Mouse Sperm Cryopreservation and Recovery using the I·Cryo Kit
Published on: December 12, 2011
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Live birth using autologous sperm cryopreserved for 26 years
Sue Sleiman1, Feyrous Bacha1, David J Handelsman1,2
1Clinical Andrology Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology, Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Case Reports
|April 12, 2023
Summary
Sperm cryopreserved for 26 years enabled a healthy birth via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), establishing a new record for autologous sperm storage. This highlights sperm banking as vital fertility preservation for young men facing gonadotoxic treatments.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Medicine
- Oncology
- Cryobiology
Background:
- Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy can cause male infertility.
- Sperm cryopreservation offers a reliable method for preserving fertility before such treatments.
- This case demonstrates long-term viability of cryopreserved sperm.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a successful live birth using sperm cryostored for a record 26 years.
- To emphasize the importance of sperm cryopreservation for cancer patients.
- To highlight the long-term efficacy of fertility preservation.
Main Methods:
- Autologous sperm cryopreservation using a graduated vapor-phase nitrogen protocol.
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with frozen-thawed sperm.
- In vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer.
Main Results:
- Successful delivery of a healthy baby boy after ICSI using sperm cryostored for 26 years.
- The cryopreserved sperm, stored since the patient was 15, remained viable and functional.
- A single IVF cycle resulted in a live birth, demonstrating high efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Sperm cryopreservation is a crucial, low-cost fertility insurance for young males undergoing gonadotoxic therapy.
- Cryopreservation provides essentially unlimited duration for fertility preservation.
- Offering sperm banking should be standard practice for males facing cancer treatment.
