Many male cancer patients are missing out on sperm banking
Many men in the UK are missing out on storing their sperms in banks because clinicians were not aware of local policies on sperm banking.
Most of the men who miss out are those whose fertility may be at risk from cancer treatment. According to a study, only half of UK's oncologists and hematologists knew that information on sperm banking is available in hospitals.
The study conducted by researchers at the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. The study that covered over 500 clinicians was funded by Cancer Research UK and is being published in the Annals of Oncology.
"Our findings are very concerning and show that doctors in the UK aren't following sperm banking guidance, meaning many men are missing the opportunity to store their sperm for the future. Instead it appears that clinicians are deciding who is offered the chance to bank sperm based on their own personal beliefs, attitudes and assumptions about their patients' likelihood of starting a family in the future," said Dr Ann Adams, study author from Warwick Medical School.