Dr. N S Devi

Fertility Preservation: Options for Cancer patients

Survival rates among young cancer patients have steadily increased over the past four decades in part because of the development of more effective cancer treatments. Today, both women and men can look forward to life after cancer, yet many may face the possibility of infertility as a result of the disease itself or these lifesaving treatments.

Fertility options for Men

Established fertility preservation options for men include sperm banking, in which a semen sample is produced, frozen, and stored for future use, and testicular sperm extraction, during which sperm is retrieved directly from the testes through a short surgical procedure and frozen.

Fertility Options for Women

Options for women to have children after cancer have increased significantly in recent years. Women should be counselled on established options such as embryo banking in which hormonal stimulation causes production of multiple eggs, which are removed, fertilized by sperm, and frozen for future use, and egg banking in which hormonal stimulation causes the production of multiple eggs, which are removed and frozen for storage and future use.

Fertility Options for Couples

Embryo cryopreservation is an established technique that has been proven to be safe and effective in couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). This process is basically for couples (if anyone of them undergoing chemotherapy/radiation treatment) where the stimulation injection is given to the female, which helps in the development of eggs, eggs are retrieved and fertilized with the sperm, further the fertilized egg i.e., embryo is then stored and preserved for the future use.