Fertility preservation

There are many reasons why you might choose to preserve your fertility. Cancer treatments, medical conditions, or life events may interfere with your reproductive goals now, but you can safeguard your future. Fertility preservation protects and preserves healthy sperm, eggs, or ovarian tissue so you can keep your options open.

We understand that protecting your future fertility is a deeply personal, important decision. Fertility and reproductive care at Penn Medicine supports your needs with state-of-the-art facilities and experienced reproductive medicine specialists.

Fertility preservation at Penn Medi cine provides the most advanced technology and procedures available, with providers who care about your personal goals.

When you work with our fertility care team, you can expect:

• Proactive, collaborative approach: Our goal is to help you preserve your fertility before circumstances might cause fertility loss. Our fertility team works with other specialties, such as our cancer care team, to ensure we complete preservation without delaying lifesaving treatments.
• Safe specimen handling and storage: We store your specimens on-site in our embryology lab, which is equipped with round-the-clock security and backup generators. We follow the strictest standards for cryopreservation of eggs, sperm, and tissue.
• The latest cryopreservation for fertility: Our advanced flash-freezing method, called vitrification, offers safer and more effective cryopreservation than traditional methods.

Female fertility preservation options

Our advanced reproductive technology for females wishing to preserve fertility includes:

Egg freezing

We can store your frozen eggs with a process called egg cryopreservation. This option is for females who lack a partner now or are about to undergo cancer treatment. It helps ensure you retain reproductive options at a later time.

Embryo freezing and storage

Our specialists combine an egg with a sperm in a dish to create an embryo (fertilized egg). Then, they freeze and store the embryo until you’re ready to use it.

Ovarian tissue banking

Ovarian tissue banking involves removing all or part of an ovary and freezing it until you’re ready to build your family. This option requires a minor surgical procedure to remove the tissue, followed by cryopreservation. Our specialists re-implant the ovarian tissue when you’re ready to try to conceive.

We specialize in sperm banking for males who want to collect, store, and preserve healthy sperm. You may choose this option if you plan to have cancer treatment or hormone therapy, or you simply wish to store sperm for later use.

For males with conditions such as azoospermia (no sperm in their semen), our specialists offer advanced testicular sperm extraction. We have successfully helped many men with azoospermia have a biological child.

At Penn Medicine, we know there’s no one way to build a family. Our team has pioneered reproductive procedures and techniques for decades, giving people every available option to become parents.

Our leading-edge facilities and methods ensure you have a chance to reach your reproductive goals on your terms, with your timing. As one of the most highly funded research programs nationwide, we offer many clinical trials found only at Penn Medicine. Our commitment to research and innovation allows us to better serve your needs.