Women now also have the possibility to protect their fertility although oocyte banking is not yet common practice. The reason is that the procedure is far more complicated than for men, and has so far only been used experimentally during the last few years. It calls for some 14 days of hormonal pre-treatment and follicle punction to extract the egg cells (which are also called ova or oocytes).

After cryopreservation and storage in liquid nitrogen at -196°C, these ova are available for assisted reproduction (IVF) later on. Thanks to modern freezing methods (vitrification), unfertilised egg cells survive freezing and thawing almost as well as fertilised cells. If the surving egg cells are to be used for assisted reproduction, it can be expected that about half of the egg cells will be fertilised.

A multi-level security system protects against mix-ups and loss.

More than 100 births have been reported worldwide after freezing unfertilised ova. We also offer vitrification of eggs, if required. Alternatively, it is also possible to freeze ovarian tissue, and we will be pleased to advise you on this.

Freezing fertilised egg cells after having undergone the necessary hormonal stimulation under general anaesthesia is a very good option for women who have a steady partner. The fertilised oocyctes are frozen at the so-called pronucleus stage, i.e., one day after follicle puncture, just before the male and female chromosome sets join. This requires a technically complex, slow cooling down of the ova to keep the crystal formation that occurs in every freezing process as low as possible

Fertilised oocytes have an 80% chance of surviving the freezing and thawing process. If fertility has been sustainably impaired by the treatment of the illness, pregnancy can be induced with the help of the frozen oocytes that are kept in the bank.

A multi-level security system protects against mix-ups and loss.

Note that this method can only be used if the partnership still exists and both partners consent to embryo transfer. From the woman’s point of view and with regard to the precautionary aspect, this procedure therefore only makes sense if the partnership continues.

In the same way it is possible to freeze and preserve sperm cells extracted from the seminal fluid or from the testicular tissue. Regardless of any sterility treatment that may have already been started, we give you the option to freeze sperm samples if fertility is at risk. This may be the case, for example, with men who have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer. Chemotherapy or radiation treatment can damage the testicular tissue to such an extent that sperm can no longer be detected in the seminal fluid after the cancer has been cured.

If sperm has been cryopreserved and stored in a semen bank before a successful cancer treatment leading to lasting infertility, it will still be possible to have a child, even many years later.

In some cases, the help of a reproductive medical specialist may be required, but physical paternity is still quite possible.

If semen was cryopreserved, a spermiogram should be made about six months after finishing the cancer treatment. If sperm production is still functioning, the frozen samples can be thawed and disposed of.

A multi-level security system protects against mix-ups and loss.

If desired, sperm cells may also be cryopreserved for men who work away from home for extended periods of time, for example, and cannot be present on the day the egg cell is extracted. This ensures that fertility treatment can still be carried out.