Ovarian Tissue Freezing And Transplantation Specialist

What is Ovarian Freezing?

Ovarian freezing gives women the ability to get pregnant in the future through a process that involves harvesting one ovary through an outpatient laparoscopic procedure. The harvesting surgery procedure only takes about an hour to complete.  Once retrieved, the outer shell of the ovary, which holds all the immature eggs is finely sliced and frozen in test tubes for optimal freezing results. The freezing process involves a meticulous Slow Freezing protocol that can take up to 6 hours in the lab to complete. 

Who Should Consider Ovarian Freezing?

Ovarian freezing can be performed in both children and adults because sexual maturity is not required. This fertility preservation technique is a great option when there is not enough time to perform egg or embryo freezing nor ovarian stimulation. 

Common reasons to consider ovarian freezing include:

• You have a health condition or illness, which might impact your fertility, such as sickle cell anemia or autoimmune diseases
• You need to undergo a medical treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation for cancer, which can impact your ability to get pregnant. Such treatments may compromise your fertility, so ovarian freezing before the treatment can increase your chances of being able to have biological children in the future
• Personal or professional reasons. Freezing your ovary at a younger age can preserve the vitality of your eggs so that you are better able to get pregnant in the future, during a time you feel more ready to be a mother
• Some women prefer to undergo in vitro fertilization with ovarian freezing, rather than a frozen embryo, for religious and ethical reasons. Ovary freezing, unlike embryo freezing, does not require sperm and the eggs are frozen unfertilized. 

If you might wish to freeze your ovary, we encourage you to schedule an ovary freezing consultation with our expert and compassionate medical team so that they can help determine if this option is right for you. 

What is Ovarian Tissue Transplantation?

Once a woman is ready to become pregnant, the frozen ovarian tissue must be transplanted, which can be done in two ways that have both been developed by Garden OB/GYN’s very own Dr. Kutluk Oktay. First, the part of the frozen ovarian tissue is thawed to determine the viability, health and density of the egg, and to ensure the tissue is cancer-free. Transplantation can then be done either through a pelvic ovarian transplantation procedure, or through a heterotopic transplantation procedure, which involves transplantation under the skin. For more information on what transplantation involves and which option might be best for you, schedule a consultation with our expert ovarian transplantation team.  

What Happens After an Ovarian Transplant?

Recovery from an ovarian transplantation, which is an outpatient procedure, is quick and should not require an overnight hospital stay in normal situations. It will take at least 8 weeks to a few months to be able to detect if the transplantation was successful. This involves first using blood tests for hormone production detection and then monitoring egg development through use of ultrasound technology. 

It is also possible to have a natural pregnancy following a pelvic transplant if your fallopian tools are normally functioning. However, it is recommended to use IVF procedures, which is typically the quickest process and so to not lose your egg reserve while trying naturally.  

Interested in learning more about ovarian tissue freezing and transplantation, as well as our other fertility treatments? Contact us to schedule a consultation with one of our Garden OB/GYN fertility and family planning experts.