So exciting that we hit over 1,000 subscribers already! I love sharing this with you all!
To celebrate, here’s a cool post highlighting some of the Reddit posts talking about sperm freezing. It is an interesting mix of comments about whether you SHOULD freeze your sperm, as well as some views on Legacy and Fellow
Experiences with Legacy sperm freezing? (self.MtF)
- I used them earlier this year and insurance covered it as out of network – which is nice but not exactly helpful since everything else I have is in-network.
- Keep in mind that when you do withdraw, surrogacy and such generally requires very specific processes and paperwork. Legacy effectively meant to be used for those who will have a legal partner that will carry for them.
- Would I do it again? Probably. If my specific circumstances allowed for it. I would have gotten fertility tests first. Legacy provides fertility tests with most of their kits.
- I personally would freeze one kit per child I might want to have some day. In general, each vial can be used for one attempt at IUI, which is cheaper, but IUI’s success rates are relatively low, so you definitely would want more vials when possible.
- Mail-in vs. in-person is a mixed bag. You will see a decline in motility when using a mail-in kit (approx. 0.4% per hour, and we target < 20 hours to get to our lab, so typically under 8%). If you’ve got healthy motility of >40% then you’ll still have plenty of motile sperm.
- There’s also several studies showing that people producing sperm samples at home have 30% BETTER quality than in clinic, due to comfort, no time pressure, etc. So there are some pros and cons. If motility is the single most important thing to you, and you only plan on using IUI, you should do it at a clinic. But for most people, a mail-in kit works well and is lower price, less hassle, and tailored more to you — and we’ve worked with 25,000+ folks to test and freeze their sperm.
Freezing sperm – Will I have enough? self.queerception
- It’s tough to figure out, there aren’t great guidelines out there about how many vials are ideal to store, and a lot of people will assume you can “always just do IVF” without acknowledging IVF’s tradeoffs in terms of high expense and invasiveness. The technology and success rates for IUI aren’t very different than they were 20 years ago; it often works but it can take a lot of tries, especially with frozen sperm. IVF success rates are definitely higher than they used to be, and can be successful even with very few sperm available, but it’s a challenging process. But IVF can also often result in freezing multiple embryos for future use, especially if the person producing the eggs doesn’t have fertility issues.
Has Anyone Frozen Their Sperm? (self.AskMenOver30)
- Go to a urologist and get an actual sperm test with motility and morphology, not just counts. This will tell you how much “margin” you have as you age, as the impact is typically to motility and morphology rather than just counts. You can then decide whether to bank, it’s not that expensive and is a good “insurance policy” IMO.
- If you feel it’s something you should do, then do it. Consult your doctor of course. Everyone’s life path is different.
- For context, I had a vasectomy at 33 without having any children before and I did not freeze my sperm. Of course, I do not have children and do not want to be a father. So that’s me following my life path. You gotta follow yours.
- I went with Fellow. Entirely done online and by mail, discreet, and cost me $189 for the initial testing, and 140/year for storage. Also not super masculine-coded, which was a nice perk but not strictly necessary.
How many of you banked sperm before HRT? (self.asktransgender)
- I did, with an internet company called Fellow (ie I mailed my sample, no in-person meetings). They included analysis and a year of storage for like $200 and then $100 per year after that. They ship you a kit and you ship the sample back to them. There’s a fee to retrieve your sample when you want to use it. I think they have good reviews but I really don’t know.
- I got my HRT prescription but last minute decided to bank. My first sample was abysmal quality, so I decided to do another one quick, but then there was a shipping delay on their part because of a backlog, so I had to wait like a month to do it. I didn’t wait to see the results, I just took my first dose an hour after mailing the second sample. Luckily it was much higher quality. They split each sample into three vials, so I have three iffy vials and three okay ones.
- I banked. I used Legacy. Everything was through the mail. I paid $1,000 over the course of 9 months for 8 vials stored, an STD test, and 5 years of storage up front. In 4 years, I can pay another $250 for another 5 years of storage.
- I’ve heard of a couple of anecdotal success stories with legacy. I can’t confirm them but I did read them on reddit.
- Legacy will allow you to transfer to an in person clinic. They’re literally just holding the sperm for you
Vasectomy and freezing sperm (self.Fencesitter)
- Not going to comment on your strategy except to say that post vasectomy reversal the sperm quality can be poor so it can be harder to get pregnant, and with frozen sperm you only have so much – once it’s gone it’s gone. Even in normal circumstances it can take 6-12 cycles to get pregnant. I don’t know much about the quality of sperm once it’s been frozen but it’s something to look into.
- Vasectomies are vastly considered “reversible” but you need to know that reversal is not always effective.
ELI5: why can we freeze sperm but not humans?(self.explainlikeimfive)
- Freezing often isn’t inherently damaging if you can control the process–ice crystal formation is a huge concern, but doesn’t happen the same way during very rapid cooling for example. A lot of cells and even smaller organisms can survive the process under some conditions, sometimes even with minimal to no detectable permanent damage.
- Controlling this process becomes harder the more you scale up. The feasibility threshold basically drops off once you hit the size of a mouse.
- Haven’t made a withdrawal yet, but I was pretty happy with Legacy. One of my samples was delayed in shipping by fedex and tested very low. I contacted support, they responded pretty quick and shipped me a new kit at no cost.
- The pricing at the local places I looked into was insane and everything was out of pocket only. I ended up using the Legacy “For Tomorrow” package as it was the only reasonable option for me. There are some discount codes that can be found on the internet if you look that will take $50 or so off. The website and process is very poorly designed in places but overall I was able to get through it. I think they are the best of the startups here. Beware the gotcha that you can only drop off the samples at certain FedEx Ship Center locations. I wouldn’t wait for a driver to pick them up. The back end appears to be a legit cryopreservation operation they are just buying access to. Your sample is split among two locations, a big advantage over some places that only store in one location. The biggest hidden catch to be aware of is that you will need a bunch of STD tests done. They try to downplay it, but it is critical if you want to use your stored sperm later. Its not a big deal for the storage, but you will likely need the proof you were clean at the time of the sample if you want to use it. I was able to get the STD testing thru my doctor and insurance. If you can’t, it is a significant out of pocket expense.
Did you guys freeze your sperm? (self.Vasectomy)
- Do not get a vasectomy yet if you’re considering freezing your sperm because you might change your mind.
- You’re not ready yet if you’re freezing sperm.
- I freeze my sperm before vasectomy. No plans to use it but I’m happy that I have full control of my fertility for the price of $200 per year
Sperm testing and sperm freezing journey from home 