Fertility Extension: Ovarian Tissue Freezing

Ovarian tissue freezing is a new and innovative technique which aims to put the brakes on a woman's biological clock thereby extending their fertility for longer.

It has been developed by *Dr Sherman Silber, a pioneering infertility expert from Missouri, USA. He is one of the foremost authorities in the world on a range of infertility treatments such as IVF, ovary transplants, ICSI and vasectomy reversal to name but a few.

* Ref: The Infertility Center of St Louis, Missouri, USA.

This technique is designed to treat women who fall into either of the following categories:

• Career women who are looking to delay pregnancy until a later date but are all too aware of the ticking of their biological clock after the age of 35.
  
  Once a woman reaches the age of 35 her fertility declines quite rapidly which reduces her chances of conceiving. This is mainly due to the fact that an older woman has fewer good quality eggs which are needed for conception.
  
  And this is even more noticeable by the age of 40.
  
  However, this allows a woman to out her fertility 'on hold' whilst she pursues her career until she is ready to start a family. This means that it is a very good option for those women who are looking to delay pregnancy until they and their partners are ready.
  
  
• Women who are suffering from cancer and are currently undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Cancer treatment such as chemotherapy relies upon strong, toxic drugs which destroy cancer cells but unfortunately, affects the ovaries as well. And this results in infertility.

The outer layer of the ovary is the most important part as this contains the follicles and eggs (ova). The inner layer performs a secondary role in that it nourishes these follicles and eggs.

With ovarian freezing, the ovary (or ovaries) is removed and the outer layer is removed using microsurgery. This layer is then put through a special freezing process using liquid nitrogen before being stored for future use. The tissue can then be transplanted back at a later date when the woman is either ready to conceive or has completed her cancer treatment.