Fertility Preservation
TasIVF’s fertility preservation program is designed to protect and preserve your fertility. We provide the only egg, embryo and sperm storage facility in Tasmania, and specialise in helping people whose fertility is either at risk due to medical illness or for those wanting to proactively preserve their fertility for social reasons.
If you’ve been referred to TasIVF for fertility preservation due to a cancer diagnosis or planned treatment, make sure you mention this when you contact the clinic and we’ll ensure you can see one of our fertility specialists as a matter of urgency.
What are my fertility preservation options?
The main reasons young women and men may need to consider fertility preservation are the risks of damaging eggs and sperm associated with chemotherapy drugs and radiotherapy – or other treatments, including surgery, for serious medical illnesses including cancer. Some medications can protect ovaries from toxic chemotherapy drugs, but fertility preservation is a sensible complementary approach.
Options for medical fertility preservation for women include freezing eggs, embryos, or ovarian tissue.
Women may also consider fertility preservation if they want to have children later in life, but are worried that age may work against them when the time is right. Options for social fertility preservation include egg freezing for single women, and embryo freezing for couples.
Men might consider freezing sperm and/or testicular tissue to protect their future fertility.
Next steps
If you have just received a cancer diagnosis and you want to talk with a fertility specialist please call us on 03 6224 1808 and we’ll facilitate an urgent appointment with one of our fertility specialists. Simply bring along the referral from your oncologist.
If you’re considering fertility preservation, because you want a family in the future, talk to your GP or book an appointment with one of our fertility counsellors. Then, if and when you’re ready to go ahead, it’s time to discuss things in further detail with a TasIVF fertility specialist – you’ll need a referral from your GP or oncologist in order to receive the Medicare rebate for your treatment.
For oncology patients, we will arrange an urgent appointment for you – just call us or have your specialist call us to book.
Your fertility specialist will discuss with you any risks associated with your fertility treatment, including the extent any medical treatment that may affect your future fertility, and the potential length of any delay to starting your family. Based on this conversation, we’ll suggest the best course of action.
Contact TasIVF for more information on Fertility Preservation.