I’m undecided about banking and need more information

Your cancer care team should be able to answer your questions or put you in contact directly with someone at the sperm bank.
At the fertility clinic where you bank your sperm, you can ask to speak to the fertility counsellor who has experience with the difficulty of not being sure if you’ll be able to have children. If you need to talk to a professional about these uncertainties, these individuals can be a great resource.

You may feel that it is urgent to start your cancer treatment, or you may not feel well enough to bank. It is important to take care of yourself.
If you are having doubts about providing a sperm sample because of religious or spiritual reasons, contact your religious leader or other spiritual resources. They may be able to help you find a solution to sperm banking in a way that affirms your faith.
- This may include using a special condom during sex with your partner so that you don’t have to masturbate.
If you didn’t bank your sperm or have decided not to, there are other options for having a family if you cannot use your own sperm after treatment. These include using donor sperm or adoption.

You may feel like you’re not old enough to make a decision about having kids. Maybe this is the first time you’ve ever thought about becoming a parent.
If this is the case, and you have a partner, you may not feel comfortable talking about it with your partner. That’s okay! Remember, this is ultimately your decision.
Sperm banking, while it brings up questions about the ability to have kids in the future, doesn’t have to mean that you’ve decided to have kids. Try to remember that sperm banking will just allow you to make these decisions in the future.

Banking your sperm is a good insurance policy, even if you don’t have a partner. It can give you the opportunity to have a family if you meet that special someone, or if you decide you want to be a single dad.