When women are diagnosed with aggressive cancers, they sometimes can’t wait the two to three weeks it takes to go through traditional fertility options, like in Vitro fertilization [IVF] or egg freezing. OU Health is offering a new and quicker option for these patients receiving medical treatments that could impact their ability to conceive.
The procedure is called ovarian tissue cryopreservation, and it requires an ovary to be removed through a procedure called a laparoscopy. Then, the ovary is cut into strips, put in a solution and frozen, preserving the ovarian tissue until patients are ready to have it re-implanted.
Heather Burks, a physician at OU Health, said Oklahomans who could benefit from the procedure include women or adolescents who have finished puberty and need their tissue preserved while they undergo treatments. Another group includes girls who haven’t gone through puberty and can’t pursue traditional options like IVF.
“The hope with any of this reproductive tissue is basically to get it removed from the body and frozen before the body gets exposed to whatever's toxic,” Burks said. “So that can be chemotherapy, and certain ones are worse than others.”
Once re-implanted, Burks said it can take a few weeks for the tissue to reestablish blood flow. Then, hormones form, and the patient could potentially ovulate and try for pregnancy.
Although Burks said some patients might need an IVF procedure on top of that.
Burks said OU Health can accept referrals and help patients with upcoming treatments schedule appointments relatively quickly. The procedure has already been administered to a six-year-old girl from Tulsa who was born with sickle cell disease and required treatments making fertility unlikely in the future.
Burks said she and her team look forward to offering this procedure to more Oklahomans.
“It is helpful to their well-being, their survivorship, along with their treatment journey, if we show them as a team that we're thinking about their future,” Burks said.
OU Health also plans to introduce research components so physicians can check in with patients and compile data that could be used to improve the procedure.
Options are also available to men in the form of freezing testicular tissue and sperm samples, Burks said.
Donations to help support patients seeking this fertility preservation option can be made to the Michelle Hastings Fertility Preservation fund on the OU Foundation’s website.
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