Fertility Preservation

Undergoing chemotherapy or radiation for cancer treatment can potentially lead to ovarian failure in women and sperm damage in men.

Although there are remarkable advances in cancer therapy with improved survival rate, fertility preservation is often a subject not usually addressed due to the overwhelming amount of information patients are given regarding their cancer treatment.

Women who were diagnosed with severe endometriosis have a high risk of premature decline in ovarian function.

Women who would like to postpone having children until their late 30’s or early 40’s may experience a dramatic decline in the quality and number of eggs they produce. The pregnancy rates usually decline after the age of 37. A woman may choose to freeze her eggs at a young age and then produce embryos years later. The pregnancy rate is based on the age of the patient during the egg retrieval thus allowing the women to store her eggs during their prime reproductive age.

There are currently two fertility preservation options: egg freezing and ovarian tissue preservation. Both options have their advantages as well as downsides. One of the advantages of preserving ovarian tissues is that their re-transplantation not only enables conception, but also restores hormonal balance and the menstrual cycle.

In the area of fertility preservation, Advanced Fertility Center of Houston is collaborating with physicians from MD Anderson Cancer Center of Houston and the top expert in fertility preservation Dr. Sherman Silber of Saint Luis, MO.  We also use the technology transferred from Dr, Peter Nagy, one of the most successful egg cryopreservation experts in the United States.