Frozen Sperm Backup?

KT416 · May 2014

Hi Ladies,

My RE wanted my DH to do frozen sperm a week or two before our ER to keep as backup just in case the sperm retrieved on the big day is unusable.

My DH has a blockage which is causing no motility, but 15% of his sperm is viable. Our urologist and RE wanted to try our first IVF w/ ICSI cycle normally to see if would work. However, there's a chance that he may need to do the thing where they go in and grab his sperm directly (I'm really sorry I am blanking on the name of the procedure).

We are lucky that we do have great insurance coverage. However, we didn't realize the frozen sperm would not be covered. We don't mind paying for it (I think he was quoted $350?) if it something that we should do, but we didn't want too if it wasn't necessary since my DH would need to take off work for it. I'm just afraid the frozen sperm wouldn't make a difference anyway and is not worth the time and effort.

It sounds like my RE is using our first cycle as a trial run and playing it really safe with light meds and one ET, so I'm already unoptimistic about our first IVF try, but still trying to stay positive.

Thoughts? Do/did you have a frozen sperm as backup?

scooteriste · May 2014

Yes, we have a backup because my DH travels a lot and you never know what may happen if ER is a day early or something like that. I can't remember the cost but it seemed worth it so we didn't blink.

AMShark · May 2014

Yes, we had a frozen back up. We didn't need it, but it gave me peace of mind to know that we had it. That being said, we're still in the range where our insurance is covering most of our procedures, so it was only a $20 co-pay for us.

tptbabe · May 2014

We did a frozen back-up as well. I think honestly, that regardless of your insurance coverage, I would want to make sure that we had something to work with beforehand. Cycling is emotionally and physically demanding, so it would be unfortunate (to say the least!) to get all the way to ER and not have any workable sperm. Plus, even if he ends up having a workable fresh sample, but the cycle isn't successful, you have that frozen sperm for next time too.

Hernsy · May 2014

We thought about it as a possibility b/c DH got orders to potentially be gone during ER. We pay OOP, but paid $75.

przemosbabe · May 2014

I vote do it too. Because if your RE is right you will regret you didn't. I have a frozen sperm back up do to my husband traveling too

Lillovebug79 · May 2014

My RE required that we had a frozen sample banked before I was even allowed to start BCP. She said she's had circumstances where the husband was unable to give a sample on the day of ER and it can ruin the whole cycle. Her example was that she had a husband in the hospital for kidney stones and he couldn't give a sample. I guess you never know. So because it is the clinic's policy, we did it. It cost around $220 I think. We were told that they prefer fresh and of course would only use the frozen if necessary.

penad5 · May 2014

We had a frozen back up too - it was $500. As PP mentioned it was great to know that if DH was called away for work we could still move ahead. I'm surprised they're saying it's just in case his fresh sample isn't good enough tho - as we were told frozen sperm loses mobility so fresh is always better

KT416 · May 2014

Thanks everyone! Good to know that it is pretty common and it would be worth the costs, even if it turns out my DH's sperm won't be usable.

jen102279 · May 2014

The things I learn on this board! Good to know! You guys are awesome!

LundleBean · May 2014

We did not freeze sperm as a backup. We are tubal factor, so although *anything* can happen, we do not foresee having any issues with DH's contribution.

If we thought there might be an issue, we would definitely take the extra step just in case. We do ICSI as our precautionary measure which costs us about $1.5-1.8k (I don't remember exactly).

It's a long, hard cycle and I would regret not doing something my RE recommended. (I'm not judging; just giving an example of my personal thought process)

Margritli · May 2014

Another vote for a back-up. We couldn't because my DH's sperm were just so bad in the "trial run" that there was hardly anything to freeze, but we would have if we could have.

ikrystal · June 2014

We have back up, and it is mandatory for our clinic (they won't do a cycle only to have to cancel at the last second because of DH issues). It's a nice "insurance" policy, that's for sure. You never know when you might need it.

KT416 · June 2014

Thanks again for the input!

Of course when my DH called the receptionist made it sound optional, so he told me he was just going to cancel it! I think I'm going to encourage him to keep it-- it would be nice to have an insurance policy if his sperm is usable

Sigh202 · June 2014

We had a frozen backup for our first 2 IVF cycles and had to use it for IVF because DH's count dropped unexpectedly. Good luck!

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