Your ability to have children of your own is also affected by the high dose chemotherapy, as well as by age and overall health. In the weeks to months after the transplant, women may not have periods and men will not make sperm.
Younger patients (in their 20s and 30s) may regain their fertility over time, but for older patients, infertility is often permanent. Past treatments for your underlying disease (blood cancer) may have already affected your fertility. Talk to your doctor about fertility preservation options that might be available to you. Do not assume your treatment has made you infertile if you were fertile before your transplant. If you do not wish to have children, you need to ensure you use contraception or birth control after transplant.
