Fertility Preservation

Abstract

Gonad cells (oocyte or spermatozoon) and tissues (ovary, testicle) are protected from gonadotoxic exposure to ensure the continuity of fertility due to medical interventions such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and the other non-oncological reasons. Depending on the progress of the cancer treatment, an increasing rate of patient survival has led to an increased importance of the fertility preservation concept. The currently used methods for fertility preservation are cryopreservation of the embryo, cryopreservation of the sperm and oocytes, ovarian transposition before radiotherapy, ovarian tissue freezing, GnRH analogue use, testicular tissue cryopreservation, and isolated spermatogonial stem cell transplantation, xenotransplantation, and some other methods of ongoing sperm maturation. Fertility patients and physicians are increasingly aware of the importance of protecting patients, increasing the knowledge and awareness of the society about the subject, and that this is an increasing contemporary problem.