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 who require germ cell-damaging treatment
• Eggs are only fertilized before freezing if there is an unfulfilled desire to have children at the same time.

Eggs can be frozen in the following women:

• • Patients without cancer, but with impending premature ovarian insufficiency (POI = premature menopause)
  • 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

Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue involves the surgical removal of an entire ovary (ovary) or part of it. This is usually done via laparoscopy. The outer surface (cortex), which contains the oocytes (egg cells), 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. This technique has already been used to induce pregnancies.

Storage is permitted up to the age of 50.

Oocyte cryopreservation

The freezing of mature egg cells has only been possible for a few years thanks to a special freezing method. This can preserve the fertility of women.

Fertilized eggs and embryos

The first step is hormonal stimulation of the ovaries so that several oocytes (eggs) can mature. These are retrieved by puncturing the follicles (egg 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.

Storage

Germ cells may only be preserved with the written consent of the person from whom they originate and for a maximum of five years. At the request of this person, the conservation period will be extended by a maximum of five years.

A longer conservation period can be agreed if an illness/medical treatment can lead to infertility or damage to the genetic material. Storage at the Clinic for Reproductive Endocrinology ends at the age of 50.

Assumption of costs

Since 2019, health insurance companies have covered the costs of fertility-preserving measures prior to treatments that damage germ cells and for the storage of ovarian tissue and eggs for a period of five years up to the age of 40. 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.