Curtain Raiser 25 – Fertility Preservation & Art

Fertility preservation and Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) play a vital role in safeguarding fertility for individuals undergoing medical treatments or facing other fertility-threatening circumstances.

In this video, we explore various fertility preservation techniques, including oocyte freezing, ovarian transplants, and sperm freezing, to help you make informed decisions about preserving your fertility.

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Introduction to Fertility Preservation & ART

Oocyte Freezing: A promising option for Women

• The process of oocyte freezing

• Ovarian stimulation
• Egg retrieval procedure
• Denuding and assessment
• Cryoprotectant addition
• Vitrification technique
• Long-term storage

• Ideal candidates for oocyte freezing

• Cancer patients pre-treatment
• Delaying childbearing
• Diminished ovarian reserve
• Family history of early menopause
• Ethical concerns with embryos
• Cancer and Fertility Preservation

• The impact of cancer treatments on fertility

• Chemotherapy: potential damage to eggs or sperm, may cause premature menopause
• Radiation: potential harm to reproductive organs, may affect hormone production
• Surgery: removal of reproductive organs, may impact fertility directly

• Fertility preservation options for cancer patients

• Oocyte freezing: preserving a woman’s eggs before treatment
• Sperm freezing: preserving a man’s sperm before treatment
• Embryo freezing: creating and preserving embryos for future use
• Ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC): preserving ovarian tissue containing immature
• Ovary transposition: surgically moving the ovaries away from the radiation field
• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists: medication to temporarily suppress ovarian function during treatment

Breast Cancer and Fertility Preservation

• Addressing fertility concerns in breast cancer patients

• Early fertility consultation
• Assess the patient’s fertility
• Evaluate treatment impact
• Personalized preservation plan

• Fertility preservation methods for breast cancer patients

• Embryo freezing
• Egg freezing
• Ovarian tissue cryopreservation
• Ovary transposition
• GnRH agonist therapy

Ovarian Transplant and Ovary Transposition

• How these procedures work

• Ovarian transplant: Cryopreserved tissue reimplanted
• Ovary transposition: Ovaries repositioned surgically

• Benefits and potential risks

• Fertility restoration
• Natural hormone production
• Reduces premature menopause
• Surgical complications possible
• Transplant rejection risk

Sperm Freezing: Preserving male fertility

• The sperm-freezing process

• Semen collection
• Semen analysis
• Cryoprotectant addition
• Controlled-rate freezing
• Long-term storage

• Factors affecting sperm viability post-thaw

• Pre-freeze sperm quality
• Cryoprotectant type
• Freezing/thawing protocols
• Storage duration
• Individual variability

Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation (OTC)

• The role of OTC in fertility preservation

• Protects fertility by freezing ovarian tissue before medical treatments that may cause infertility.
• Important for prepubertal girls and young women who cannot undergo other fertility preservation
• OTC enables women to postpone childbearing by preserving their fertility potential.
• Ovarian tissue can be transplanted back after medical treatments to restore fertility.
• OTC can be used as a source of natural hormones for premature ovarian failure

• Advancements in OTC techniques

• Vitrification
• Vitro maturation
• Robotic-assisted transplantation
• Tissue engineering
• Biomaterial