Information for Tumour Patients

Tumour patients undergoing radio- or chemotherapy often suffer a reduced or a complete loss of fertility.

Even though the desire to have children may not occur at such a moment, it is still worth considering the possibility of having a biological child once the illness is over.

It is important to see us as soon as possible, after diagnosis and prior to any therapy, to discuss the cryo-preservation of gametes or embryos.

Men: Sperm Cryopreservation: A sperm sample is collected at the clinic or brought from home and cryopreserved for many years. Depending on the spermiogram results, it may be necessary to obtain a second sample to have enough gametes available for fertilisation after thawing.

Women: Obtaining gametes from women is a more complex process. The ovaries are stimulated to produce several eggs, which then can be fertilised and cryopreserved as embryos. However, if the couple breaks up or the man dies, then these embryos cannot legally be implanted, even if this means the woman losing her only chance of having a biological child.

The other possibility is the cryopreservation of eggs. The great advantage is that eggs can be fertilised after thawing. Particularly for single women, this is the only possibility they have to retain their fertility next to ovarian tissue cryopreservation.

For the cryopreservation to go ahead, we require a signed copy of our clinic's cryo-contract and a blood sample to test for infections.