Fertility Preservation Services in Chicago, IL & Nearby Areas
Knowing you want a family someday doesn’t always mean you’re ready to pursue parenthood today. Your plans may still be unfolding, or an upcoming medical treatment may have you thinking about your fertility much sooner than you expected. In either circumstance, preserving your fertility now may give you more possibilities to consider later.
Here at Reproductive Medicine Institute, our fertility preservation clinic serves patients in Chicago, Oak Brook, Oak Lawn, and Skokie, IL. Our physicians will take the time to understand your circumstances, evaluate your reproductive health, and explain which preservation option may be appropriate for your future plans.
Understanding Fertility Preservation
Fertility preservation gives you the opportunity to freeze eggs, sperm, or embryos for possible use when you’re ready to pursue your family-building plans. The fertility preservation treatment your physician recommends will be based on what you want to preserve and why you’re considering the process.
Freezing reproductive material keeps it available for the future, but just keep in mind that it can’t guarantee that pregnancy will occur. Your physician will explain the factors that could affect your chances of using it to pursue pregnancy later, so you can make an informed decision now.
Who May Benefit From Fertility Preservation?
You may consider preserving your fertility because you want more time before trying to have a child, or you may still be waiting to find the person you want to build your family with. Fertility preservation can also become an important consideration when a medical diagnosis changes the timeline you had envisioned.
Chemotherapy, radiation, and certain surgeries can damage the ovaries or testes and reduce the number of healthy eggs or sperm available later. Other medical conditions may interfere with your ability to become pregnant. Your physician will consider your reproductive health, diagnosis, treatment schedule, and personal plans before recommending how to proceed.
Fertility Preservation Methods
The fertility preservation methods available to you are going to involve different medical steps and decisions. You may need to consider what you want to preserve, whether fertilization should happen now, and how you could pursue pregnancy or parenthood when the time is right. Our physicians will talk through all of these with you before you choose an option.
Egg Freezing
Egg freezing allows you to preserve mature eggs without deciding how they will be fertilized right now. You’ll take medication that encourages several eggs to mature during the same cycle, and our clinical team will monitor their development through bloodwork and ultrasounds. When they’re ready, your physician will retrieve the eggs during a brief procedure. Our laboratory team will then freeze the mature eggs until you’re ready to consider fertilizing them through IVF.
Embryo Freezing
Embryo freezing follows the same ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval process, but the retrieved eggs are fertilized with sperm before freezing. Our laboratory team will monitor the resulting embryos as they develop and freeze suitable embryos for future transfer. Because fertilization occurs before storage, you’ll need to decide whose sperm will be used when you begin the process.
Sperm Freezing
Sperm freezing involves providing a semen sample that our team can evaluate before preparing it for cryopreservation. Depending on the number and movement of the sperm in your sample, your physician may recommend collecting additional samples to preserve more sperm. And if you can’t provide a viable sample through ejaculation, your physician can explain whether retrieving sperm directly from the testicle may give you another option.
The Fertility Preservation Process
Egg, embryo, and sperm freezing are all different medical procedures, so your experience will be built around the reproductive material you have chosen to preserve. However, our fertility services will always start with an honest discussion about your health, timing, and hopes for having a family. Here’s what you can expect:
- Discussing Your Reasons – Your physician will ask what has brought you to our clinic, why you’re considering preservation, and when you may want to pursue parenthood.
- Evaluating Your Fertility – Bloodwork, ultrasound imaging, or semen analysis can give our team more information about your reproductive health.
- Choosing a Method – We’ll explain the differences among freezing eggs, sperm, and embryos so you can choose an option that fits your circumstances.
- Collecting Reproductive Material – Depending on your plan, you’ll complete ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, provide a semen sample, or have retrieved eggs fertilized through IVF.
- Freezing and Storage – Our laboratory team will prepare your eggs, sperm, or embryos for cryopreservation and explain how they’ll be stored until you’re ready to discuss using them.
Why Choose Reproductive Medicine Institute for Fertility Preservation?
The fertility company you trust with this decision should understand both the medical reasons for preserving your fertility and the future you're trying to protect. And here at Reproductive Medicine Institute, our physicians will take all the time needed to learn why you’re preserving your fertility, what your reproductive health tells us now, and what you hope the process keeps possible for you.
If you’re preparing for chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, we can communicate with your medical team as we plan your care around the treatment ahead. Throughout the process, you’ll receive direct clinical guidance, clear answers, and care informed by your reproductive health and personal priorities.
Preserve Your Fertility With Reproductive Medicine Institute Today
You may not be ready to pursue pregnancy or parenthood today, but preserving your eggs, sperm, or embryos can keep that possibility available when your circumstances are different. Our fertility specialists at Reproductive Medicine Institute will help you understand what you can preserve now and how you may be able to use it when you’re ready to build your family.
Let’s talk about what you want for your future. Schedule your fertility preservation consultation today.
