What is fertility preservation?
Certain diseases and their treatment (mainly cancer but also some other autoimmune and idiopathic conditions) are associated with a high risk of the male or female patient losing their ability to father or mother a child i.e. their fertility. Timely counselling and intervention can provide these individuals an opportunity to preserve their fertility while they undergo treatment for the above conditions.
What is onco-fertility?
Onco-fertility is a sub-specialised branch of fertility and reproductive medicine which is linked with oncology and relates to providing fertility preservation of cancer patients undergoing treatment as well as subsequent counselling and follow-up for survivors.
Besides cancer, for what other disease is fertility preservation offered?
- Premature ovarian failure
- Autoimmune diseases like Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Fragile X Syndrome
How can fertility preservation in females be achieved?
Standard options include
- Embryo freezing - Harvesting eggs, in vitro fertilization and freezing of embryos for later implantation
- Egg freezing (also known as oocyte vitrfication) Harvesting and freezing of unfertilised eggs
- Radiation Shielding of Gonads- Use of shielding to reduce scatter radiation to the reproductive organs
- Ovarian Transposition Surgical repositioning of the ovaries away from the radiation field.
Experimental on non-standard options include
- Ovarian Tissue Freezing - Freezing of ovarian tissue and reimplantation after cancer treatment
- Ovarian Suppression - Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Analogues or Antagonists used to suppress ovaries
How can fertility preservation in males be achieved?
Standard options include
Sperm Banking (Masturbation) - Sperm is obtained through masturbation, then frozen
Sperm Banking (Alternative Collection Methods) Sperm obtained through testicular extraction or electroejaculation under sedation
Radiation Shielding of Gonads - Use of shielding to reduce the dose of radiation delivered to the testes
Testicular Sperm Extraction - Use of biopsy to obtain individual sperm from testicular tissue
Experimental on non-standard options include
Testicular Tissue Freezing Tissue obtained through biopsy and stored for future use