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Although the success of cancer treatments and survival continues to rise, the side effects of those treatments can damage or even eliminate fertility. Often the initial focus is on the elimination of the cancer at all costs and not on future fertility preservation before beginning aggressive treatment. In women, such treatment can cause ovarian damage or failure, early menopause, genetic damage to growing eggs and other reproductive problems. In men, cancer treatments can cause damage to the testes and interfere or destroy sperm production. At The Center for Reproductive Medicine, we are working with cryopreservation technologies to help people preserve their future fertility options. Using a process called vitrification we are able to freeze and store eggs, sperm, embryos, and tissue (in rare cases) in order to preserve fertility.

We currently offer various options to preserve fertility for both men and women. The choice of which option is best for you depends on age, type of cancer and treatment, overall patient health, and willingness to use donor gametes. The most commonly used preservation options with successful published results are embryo freezing, egg freezing, and sperm banking. The clinic's experts will assist you and your oncologist in deciding which options are best for you prior to chemotherapy or radiation. We will also assist in determining your fertility potential after treatment has occurred. What follows is a brief overview of various options.

Embryo Freezing: this technique has proven success rates and takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks to complete. A woman’s ovaries are first stimulated to mature multiple eggs which are then removed and fertilized through in vitro fertilization (IVF) with sperm to create embryos. The embryos are then vitrified for future use.

Egg Freezing: this new technology is showing good results. It also takes 2-6 weeks to complete. During egg freezing, eggs are retrieved from the ovaries, vitrified in a cryoprotective solution, and stored for future use. When couples wish to become pregnant, the eggs are thawed and fertilized to produce embryos for transfer. This is a good option for single women who do not have a male partner and do not want to use donor sperm. (This treatment is currently performed under Internal Review Board (IRB) oversight).

Ovarian Tissue Freezing: this technique is an experimental but promising option that is good for patients with little or no time for ovarian stimulation before cancer treatment. One of a woman’s ovaries is surgically removed in a 1-hour outpatient procedure. The ovary is divided into strips, vitrified and stored until cancer treatments are completed. Thawed tissue is then re-implanted and, when successful, the tissue resumes producing hormones and maturing eggs. Several babies have been produced through this method worldwide. This procedure is experimental and requires IRB oversight. Ovarian Suppression: another experimental technique, this is the only option that can be performed during cancer treatment. Medications are used to suppress the ovaries and prevent them from producing hormones or maturing eggs until after cancer treatment.

Donor Eggs and Donor Embryos: these two techniques are performed after cancer treatments are completed. They use eggs or embryos that are donated from healthy donors to initiate a pregnancy. Donor eggs can be fertilized with a partner’s or a donor’s sperm to create embryos that are transferred back into the woman or a gestational surrogate through IVF. In embryo donation, pregnancy may be achieved with the help of couples who have completed their families through IVF, and they have additional but unneeded embryos they are willing to share.

Sperm Banking (Men): this technique has proven success. Semen is collected, analyzed, cryopreserved and stored for future use.

Fertility After Cancer Treatments

Many women and men are able to safely pursue pregnancy after chemotherapy or radiation. Our reproductive experts will work with your oncologists to determine your fertility potential and treatment options.

Sperm production and function may take some time to recover. A semen analysis is used to determine the potential for pregnancy. If sperm counts are low, IUI or IVF may be required. In some cases, urological consultation and retrieval of sperm surgically may be required. Treatment with donor sperm is also available.

After clearance from the oncologist, a woman's fertility potential may be determined with a blood test and ultrasound of the ovaries.

For more information, please visit www.fertilehope.com.