Semen storage?

[willowfly]

We've been TTC for 2+ years, have had 2 miscarriages and have done 2 cycles of Follistim injections and our fertility insurance coverage is maxed out. Our latest issue with the TTC saga is my husband is moving across the country for the next 2 years. We hope to be able to see each other once a month, but we might not be able to correlate that visit with when I'm ovulating... I've had gay friends get pregnant with the turkey baster method, but does this only work with fresh sperm? How long is sperm viable if refrigerated, frozen etc.? I'm assuming that my husband will have to make deposits at our RE office and then I'll have to do IUIs, but was hoping to get away with the turkey baster method b/c money is tight. We're also too old to wait.

[Scott Roseff MD]

Hi,

I would love to know what your recurrent pregnancy loss workup showed as a reason for your losses....

The "turkey baster" method can work with fresh sperm (or properly thawed/frozen sperm), assuming some conditions are proper (like good sperm quality/quantity, for example). Sperm is generally not in good shape after refrigeration, though that can vary too. Sperm can be properly processed and then frozen (not in your home freezer, by the way) and then properly thawed and be OK for decades.

Hope this helps,
Dr. Roseff in Florida

[willowfly]

My recurrent pregnancy loss workup showed nothing, all hormone levels and my DNA are normal and I'm a healthy active person. The only thing different is I have one ovary (lost one to a dermoid when I was 32) and have a small uterine polyp which is coming out this week. Guess I'm just too old (36), which is something I'm not willing to accept yet.

[Scott Roseff MD]

I'll bet your partner's sperm DNA fragmentation and decondensation tests weren't done (and those can be reasons for recurrent pregnancy loss)....!

Dr. Roseff in Florida

[willowfly]

No my husband hasn't had those tests done, he's had the typical volume, count, motility, progression, which is all good...but hasn't had morphology, DNA, or decondensation tests done. Why wouldn't my RE have suggested we have this done?