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What is it?
It is a suitable treatment for people who wish to postpone maternity but considers it as a future project. The reasons are several: women and men with oncological diseases undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, women with ovarian endometriosis who will undergo surgery capable of affecting their follicular reserve or social and professional motivations that launch for the future the option of being mother father. Preservation of fertility in women is performed through cryopreservation of ovarian tissue and oocytes, while in man it is performed through cryopreservation of testicular tissue and sperm. Cryopreservation of embryos can be an alternative for the couple.
What is cryopreservation?
When we talk about preservation of female fertility, the most appropriate and increasingly common treatment is the cryopreservation of mature oocytes through the vitrification technique (rapid freezing). The harvested oocytes are cooled rapidly to a temperature of -196 ° C, which prevents the formation of ice crystals, responsible for irreversible damage to the cell after thawing. The survival rate with this method is about 90%.
The preservation of male fertility also presupposes the exposure of the cells to low temperatures.
What is the process?
To use this technique it is necessary for women to undergo ovarian stimulation and follicular puncture. Ideally, this technique should be performed before the age of 35 years.
In the case of men, only a more invasive intervention is necessary if the testicular biopsy is necessary for the collection of male gametes.
Benefits?
The preservation of male and female fertility allows individual decisions to be made vis-à-vis the future, be they social, economic or personal in the case of associated pathologies.
Success stories
In preserving female fertility, the cryopreserved ovarian tissue or oocytes belong to the woman and she will decide when and with whom to use them. A woman may try to conceive naturally, regardless of whether or not she has cryopreserved gametes. It is a safe and effective technique. The same applies in the case of preservation of male fertility.
There are over 2000 children born through this technique.
