Chapter 28 - Ovarian tissue cryopreservation

Summary

Early detection and aggressive chemotherapy/radiotherapy treatments have improved the long-term survival rates for many young women with various types of cancer. The structure of the human ovary is a crucial consideration in the potential success of cryopreservation. Four permeating cryoprotectants, glycerol (GLY), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), ethylene glycol (EG), and propanediol (propylene glycol; PROH), have been used in human and animal ovarian tissue cryopreservation. In contrast to evaluation of outcomes from embryo or gamete cryopreservation, assessing the survival and viability of cryopreserved ovarian tissue poses specific challenges. There are only two morphometric studies of human ovarian tissue which assess cryopreservation, one of which is an evaluation of the most commonly used procedure using DMSO as a cryoprotectant and controlled rate cooling on tissue from six patients. Clinical evidence has established that fertilization and embryo development can occur in oocytes recovered from cryopreserved ovarian tissue transplanted at a heterotopic site.