Sperm Banking for Adolescents With Cancer

Abstract

Recent advances in diagnostic and therapeutic methods in pediatric oncology have led to greater survival rates in children with malignancies. However, major long-term complications can occur that limit the quality of survival, infertility being one of them. Chemotherapy, radiation treatment, surgery, and combinations of these treatments have been implicated in causing infertility, with males being especially sensitive to therapy. Cryopreservation of semen, or sperm banking, is an easy, widely available means to preserve fertility for adolescent and young adult males with cancer. In this article, the pertinent literature is reviewed, and a sperm-banking program is described. Recommendations are offered for institutions attempting to develop a successful program, and the nurse's role in education and facilitation is discussed.