Ovarian tissue freezing and activation after thawing: an update

Abstract

Background With the growth of women’s age, ovarian failure can be caused by various factors. For the women who need chemotherapy because of cancer factors, the preservation of fertility is more urgent. The treatment of cancer is also a process in which all tissues and organs of the body are severely damaged, especially in the reproductive system. Main body As a new fertility preservation technology, autologous ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation is developing rapidly and showing great potentiality in preserving ovarian endocrine function of young cervical cancer patients. Vitrification and slow freezing are two common techniques applied for ovarian tissue cryopreservation. Thus, cryopreserved/thawed ovarian tissue and transplantation act as an important method to preserve ovarian function during radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and ovarian cryopreservation by vitrification is a very effective and extensively used method to cryopreserve ovaries. The morphology of oocytes and granulosa cells and the structure of organelles were observed under the microscope of histology; the hormone content in the stratified culture medium of granulosa cells with the diameter of follicle was used to evaluate the development potential of ovarian tissue, and finally the ovarian tissue stimulation was determined by the technique of ovarian tissue transplantation. Conclusions Although there are some limitations, the team members still carry out this review to provide some references and suggestions for clinical decision-making and further clinical research.

Fertility preservation strategies for cancerous women: An updated review

“…The OT contains many primordial and immature follicles numbers that can be protected by freezing. However, it is more complicated than embryo and oocyte freezing due to different cell types and permeability to water and cell volum ( 40 ) . After removal of the medulla, the cortex is divided into several strips of approximately equal size for grafting (10x5 with 1 mm-thick piece) or slices (4x2 with 1 mm-thick piece) which allow penetrating the cryoprotectant agents (CPAs) into the thin layer of the cortex ( 36 ) .…”