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Fertility Preservation in Oncological and Non-Oncological Diseases pp 229–239Cite as

Cryopreservation of Sperm and Testicular Tissue

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Abstract

Cryopreservation of semen is an established method for fertility preservation in men with (oncological) diseases prior to potentially gonadotoxic treatments. Cryopreservation of sperm may also be a kind of “social freezing”, e.g. prior to vasectomy, and during ART procedures. Testicular sperm extraction techniques (either multifocal biopsies or microsurgical techniques) are recommended for azoospermia or ejaculation disorders. In some patients with ejaculatory disorders, urine samples or either rectal electro- or penile vibratory stimulation can be offered for sperm cryopreservation. For prepubertal boys or early pubertal boys, only experimental protocols using spermatogonial stem cells from immature testicular tissue can be applied in combination with testicular biopsies in specialized centres. In 2019, colleagues from Pittsburgh published the birth of a graft-derived baby (“Grady”) after ICSI therapy in non-human primates, where sperm were used that developed from prepubertal immature testicular tissue. Up to now, indications and methods of fertility preservation in men and also in boys have been summarized in several guidelines. Informing patients is mandatory and national rules for cryopreservation must be applied. In some countries, cryopreservation of spermatozoa is part of the health care systems and insurance, or demands private payment by the patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Surgical Andrology, Centre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany

    Sabine Kliesch

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  1. Sabine Kliesch
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Correspondence to Sabine Kliesch .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, University Women’s Hospital of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Michael von Wolff

  2. Specialist Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Prenatal Medicine, Endocrinology and Osteology, amedes MVZ Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Frank Nawroth

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Kliesch, S. (2020). Cryopreservation of Sperm and Testicular Tissue. In: von Wolff, M., Nawroth, F. (eds) Fertility Preservation in Oncological and Non-Oncological Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47568-0_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47568-0_26

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-47567-3

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