Ovarian tissue freezing
Ovarian tissue contains lots of immature eggs and in this procedure, this tissue is removed and then frozen. After a young woman has had cancer treatment, this tissue can be put back into the body to allow the eggs to develop. Tissue can be collected before and during chemotherapy, but it is a newer method of fertility preservation so it is not available in all fertility clinics at the moment.
Who is it for?
Young women who want to preserve their fertility and:
- Do not have time to freeze any eggs or embryos
- Are not able to use fertility drugs
After the ovarian tissue is returned to the body, it is sometimes able to restore your normal hormone levels and cycles and could allow young women to fall pregnant naturally.
This method is also suitable for girls who have not reached puberty. Before tissue is replaced it will need to be carefully screened to ensure that the tissue does not contain any cells from the original cancer. This is particularly important for patients who had leukaemia and some forms of lymphoma where cancer cells circulate in the blood.
What does it involve?
You will have keyhole surgery under a general anaesthetic where one ovary or part of an ovary will be removed. This will allow the outer layer of the ovary (where the immature eggs are) to be frozen. You will be able to go home later that day after the procedure.
Ovarian tissue freezing only involves the young woman so you will not need to get your partner or parents’ consent to use this tissue in the future. There is no upper limit for how long frozen ovarian tissue can be stored.
What is the chance of having a baby after ovarian tissue freezing?
It is difficult to know how likely it is that ovarian tissue freezing will result in a successful pregnancy.
This is a newer treatment so not many young women have used frozen ovarian tissue to try and have a baby. However, the data shows that ovarian tissue freezing will give a young woman a 25 in 100 (25%) chance of having a baby. For egg and embryo freeing, you can find more information on the HFEA website (www.hfea.go.uk) about success rates for each licensed fertility clinic. The HFEA do not regulate tissue storage and have no information on tissue storage on their website.
Will this option affect the health of the baby?
No, the data suggests that health of a baby born using frozen ovarian tissue will not be affected.
Are there any side effects of the treatment used in ovarian tissue freezing?
There is a chance that bleeding, infection and damage to the bladder or bowel could take place during the surgery to remove the ovarian tissue.
Will this option delay the start of my cancer treatment?
The procedure is normally carried out during one day (with no overnight stay), so it should not cause any delays to cancer treatment. However, in some cases it can take up to a few days.
Will this option affect my chances of my cancer coming back?
In some types of cancer, such as leukaemia, there may a chance that ovarian tissue could contain cancer cells. There are no cases where cancer has returned from using ovarian tissue.
