The Tyler Medical Clinic

Assisted Conception - Affordable Infertility Treatments

- History of Semen Cryopreservation -

1776 - First observations on the effects of freezing temperatures on human sperm

1866 - First banks for frozen human semen suggested

1938 - Sperm survives at temperatures as low as -269°C, and stored at -79°

1949 - Glycerol first used as protective agent for bovine spermatozoa

1953 - "Dry Ice" preservation method developed

1953 - First successful human pregnancy using frozen sperm

1957 - Tyler Medical Clinic/Westwood Cryobank offers freezing of semen

1960 - Sperm frozen and stored using liquid nitrogen

1972 - First commercial cryobanks founded

1973 - Normal child born from semen stored for over one year

1998 - Successful birth at Tyler Medical Clinic using sperm frozen for 20 years

Source:  Sherman, "Historical Synopsis of Human Cryobanking," 1979

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Last modified: 06/09/04