Fertility Preservation

Fertility preservation encompasses any strategy to maintain reproductive potential for future use. Options for women include egg freezing, embryo freezing (if a partner or donor sperm is available), and ovarian tissue cryopreservation (experimental in some settings). For men, sperm banking (cryopreservation) is a straightforward and highly effective option.

The most common reason for urgent fertility preservation is cancer diagnosis before chemotherapy or radiation, which can damage the gonads. Other indications include surgical removal of ovarian tissue, premature ovarian insufficiency risk, and autoimmune disease requiring gonadotoxic treatment. Reproductive endocrinologists coordinate with oncologists to complete preservation quickly without delaying cancer care, often starting within days of diagnosis.