Fertility preservation for her

If chemotherapy or radiation is carried out before tumor treatment, this can significantly damage the germ cells or lead to irreversible infertility.

Requirements for fertility preservation

Ovarian tissue or (fertilized) eggs can be frozen in the following women:

• Before chemotherapy or radiotherapy of the pelvis (incl. prepubertal girls)
• Patients without cancer, but with impending premature ovarian insufficiency (POI = premature menopause)
• Patients without cancer who require cell-damaging treatment
• Young women who may not be able to fulfill their desire to have children before the end of the fertile phase, so-called “social freezing”

Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue

In the cryopreservation of so-called ovarian tissue, an entire ovary (ovary) or part of it is surgically removed. This is usually done via laparoscopy. The outer surface (cortex), which contains the oocytes, is carefully removed from the medulla of the ovary and cut into approx. 4 x 8 mm strips, which are then cryopreserved. This tissue can later be thawed and retransplanted into the woman. Pregnancies have already been successfully induced using this technique.

The permitted storage period is unlimited.

Oocyte cryopreservation

It has only been possible to freeze mature egg cells using a freezing method for a few years. This can preserve the fertility of women without a current male partner.

Fertilized eggs and embryos

This involves hormonal stimulation of the ovaries so that several egg cells (oocytes) can mature. These are retrieved by puncturing the follicles and fertilized with the partner’s sperm using in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The fertilized eggs are then frozen either immediately or a few days later as embryos and stored for later treatment. The entire process takes around three weeks.

The permitted storage period for unfertilized and fertilized eggs and embryos is unlimited in the event of permanent damage to the ovaries due to chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and limited to a maximum of ten years for couples wishing to have children.

Storage and assumption of costs

Since 2019, health insurance companies have covered the costs of fertility-preserving measures and the storage of ovarian tissue, eggs or sperm for a period of five years. If permanent damage to the germ cells is confirmed after these five years, the health insurance company will cover the storage costs for a further five years. According to the Swiss Reproductive Medicine Act, there is no time limit for the storage of eggs, ovarian tissue and sperm.