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Why cancer patients request disposal of cryopreserved semen specimens posttherapy: a retrospective study
J Hallak1, R K Sharma, A J Thomas
1Andrology Research and Clinical Laboratories, Department of Urology, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio 44195, USA.
Objective:
To determine why patients with cancer stop storing semen in a sperm bank program.
Design:
Retrospective study.
Setting:
Hospital andrology laboratory.
Patient(S):
Cancer patients (n = 56) who discontinued sperm storage.
Intervention(S):
A database of 342 patients with cryopreserved sperm was searched for disease diagnosis, marital status before and after diagnosis, type of therapy, number of specimens banked, interval between diagnosis and sperm banking, and postthaw semen characteristics. Patients discontinuing storage were surveyed.
Main Outcome Measurement(S):
Reasons for discontinuing storage and clinical correlation of the decision.
Result(S):
Reasons included patient death (n = 21); fertility but no plans for more children (n = 23); good sperm quality (n = 8); and no plans to have children (n = 4). Patients were similar in age, number of specimens, and interval between diagnosis and treatment, but they showed significant differences in type of treatment and time in the program. Cost of cryopreservation and specimen storage was not cited.
Conclusion(S):
Most patients decided to discontinue sperm banking because either they regained fertility or had improved semen quality. Sperm banking should be strongly recommended for all patients with malignant diseases who may wish to have children, even if they eventually decide that the specimens are not needed.
