Status of Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation and Transplantation

Advanced age, disease and anti-cancer treatment may lead to the decline or even loss of female fertility. With the decline of cancer mortality rate, patients’ fertility preservation needs are higher. At present, the commonly used fertility preservation methods include embryo, oocyte, ovarian tissue cryopreservation and so on. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation, which has a short history of 20 years, is a fertility preservation method for patients with medical indications clinically. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation can rebuild the endocrine function and fertility of patients to a certain extent. More than 200 infants have been born through this technology. To enhance the safety of this technology, current research combines oocyte in vitro maturation and artificial ovaries transplantation to avoid the risk of cancer recurrence after transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue with a high risk of carrying cancer. Now, many studies have confirmed the effectiveness and security of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation. Despite the rapid development of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation technology, it still faces challenges, such as how to prolong the function of the ovarian tissue after transplantation, etc. More basic and clinical researches are needed to promote the development of ovarian tissue cryopreservation and ovarian tissue transplantation technology.