Fertility Preservation Specialist

What is fertility preservation?

Fertility preservation is the term given to treatment options that provide patients faced with the risk of losing their fertility due to chemotherapy, radiation, other medical treatments, surgery or genetic causes, as well as aging, with an opportunity to possibly produce a child at a later date once their cancer has been successfully treated. Some of the available treatment options and procedures associated with fertility preservation include:

• In vitro fertilization and embryo freezing
• Ovarian tissue freezing
• Egg freezing
• Sperm freezing
• In Vitro Maturation
• Testicular Tissue Freezing

With fertility preservation, you can safeguard your ability to have children due to the effects of chemotherapy or other cancer treatments. Dr. Oktay can develop a fertility preservation treatment plan that offers you the best chance of producing a child.

When should fertility preservation be considered?

You should consider fertility preservation if you have a health condition that requires a form of treatment that could damage your reproductive organs, and prevent you from producing a child once you've regained your health. Certain genetic conditions, such as Turner Syndrome, can cause early ovarian failure and may indicate the need for fertility preservation.

Receiving chemotherapy, radiation, or other toxic medications can damage the eggs, ovaries, and sperm, leaving you incapable of producing a child. Dr. Oktay can identify your potential risks, and determine the best plan of action to allow you the most plausible way to preserve your ability to reproduce.

Each case will be different, and the patient will have various options to choose from that will increase their chances of protecting the tissues that’ll be needed, after successful treatment of the cancer.

What are a few of the obstacles couples face in fertility preservation?

Patients can face many obstacles when it comes to fertility preservation. One of their biggest issues is timing, especially if there’s a deadline to start cancer treatments. Dr. Oktay’s team can work with your oncologists to get you into a fertility preservation procedure within a brief time, so your cancer treatment isn’t delayed.

Another issue is that your medical condition may require specialized approaches to preserve fertility. For example, for women with estrogen-sensitive cancer such as the breast, Dr. Oktay specializes in ovarian stimulation protocols to safely preserve your fertility via egg and embryo freezing. He’s also the pioneer of ovarian tissue freezing and transplantation, which can be performed when there’s insufficient time for ovarian stimulation, or the stimulation isn’t safe for you.