Fertility Preservation and Storage
Freezing your eggs, sperm, or embryos is an option for hopefully having a biological family in the future.
Fertility preservation gives you the option of becoming a parent in the future, if you wish.
We can freeze eggs, sperm or embryos in a number of different situations.We have a fast track pathway for oncology patients who are about to undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy and wish to freeze their eggs or sperm to preserve their fertility.
We also help people who are transitioning, as well as people preserving their fertility for social reasons.
How to refer a patient to The Agora Clinic
Detailed instructions for Doctors wishing to refer patients for fertility preservation.
Oncology patients
We offer a rapid access freezing service to all patients who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Social egg freezing
Egg freezing is a way of preserving a person’s fertility so they can try to have a family in the future.
Freezing before transitioning
We have helped many transgender and non-binary people talk through the issues involved with freezing before transitioning.
NHS funding for fertility treatment
NHS funding for fertility treatment is available for patients living in both East Sussex and West Sussex.
NHS Funding and Storage Fees
Storage fees can be covered by NHS funding for patients undergoing medical treatment affecting fertility, e.g chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
In addition, the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Sussex will fund fertility preservation if you are attending an NHS Gender Identity Clinic.
If your treatment is being funded by the National Health Service, please be aware that NHS funding for the storage of eggs, sperm and embryos will be discontinued when a birth is achieved.
In this situation, if you wish to continue to store your eggs, sperm or embryos, you will need to fund your storage fees privately.
If you do not wish to fund your storage fees privately, we will send you the relevant consent forms for you to complete to allow your embryos to perish.
Fertility Preservation – Your Questions Answered
How will my frozen sperm or eggs be used in future?
Stored frozen sperm can be used in intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilisation (IVF) either using donor eggs or a partner’s eggs. The sperm is stored in small vials called ampoules. For a cycle of treatment, one of those ampoules is thawed out.
Stored frozen eggs need to be fertilised with sperm to create embryos. This is done using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The embryos can be transferred to your womb or that of a surrogate or partner. A number of frozen eggs would need to be thawed out to complete a cycle of treatment.
How long can you store frozen eggs, sperm or embryos?
Legally, under the HFEA regulation, you are allowed to store your eggs, sperm or embryos for any period up to 55 years. You will be contacted annually to ask if you wish to keep your eggs, sperm or embryos in storage. If you do, you need to pay an annual storage fee. If you have had NHS-funded fertility preservation, this fee may be covered by your NHS provider. You can opt to dispose of your eggs at any time.
If you are prematurely infertile or are likely to become prematurely infertile, you’re allowed to store your eggs, sperm or embryos for longer than 10 years (up to a maximum of 55 years). We need to have a letter from your medical practitioner that certifies this to be true before we can offer this service.
Fertility Preservation Articles
