Sperm banking gives teenage cancer patients hope for the future
March 2006A team in the School of Medicine’s Division of Human Development and Reproductive Health has found that boys as young as 13 being treated for cancer could bank sperm samples, so that they might be able to have children in the future.
Several types of chemotherapy can damage the sperm-producing portion of the testes, while radiation of the testicular area can also lead to infertility. This makes infertility very common among male survivors of childhood cancer.
However, Dr Guy Makin’s survey of males diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 13 and 21 who had undergone potentially infertility-producing treatment, and were offered the option of banking their sperm at the Teenage Cancer Trust Young Oncology Unit at the Christie Hospital, found that 67 % had done so successfully. Those who did not were on average younger, with higher levels of anxiety, more difficulty in discussing fertility and less knowledge about sperm banking.
According to a 2002 study, 77% of childless male cancer patients aged 14 to 40 said they would like to father children in the future, but just half had been given the option of banking sperm and less than a quarter had done so successfully.
Dr Makin said: “Our study showed that most teenage and young adult cancer sufferers were able to store semen for future use when this option was offered to them. These young men are coping with a life-threatening illness and their future fertility is often not a priority for them, but sperm-banking should be seen as a routine part of their treatment, they need to be given better-quality information and medical professionals trained to discuss the issue with them.”
