Research conducted in sheep has raised hopes for safeguarding the fertility of women undergoing aggressive treatments for cancer.
Researchers at Israel's Institute of Animal Science have successfully developed embryos from sheep ovaries, used for their similarity to human ovaries, which had been transplanted whole after being frozen and then thawed. Scientists at the institute are hopeful that the procedure will be a practical option for humans within a few years, although further research needs to be done.
Scientists working on the sheep experiment claimed that out of eight sheep the procedure was trialled on, the transplanted thawed ovaries of five sheep re-established normal blood flow and produced eggs. Three years on the sheep's ovaries still appeared to be functioning and producing eggs.
Previous attempts at whole human ovary transplants, attempted only twice, saw the ovary moved temporarily into the patient's arm and didn't involve freezing (cryopreservation) and thawing.
Current options for women undergoing cancer treatment include harvesting and freezing eggs and freezing and transplanting strips of ovarian tissue, but so far these methods have yielded relatively low rates of successful pregnancies.
The recent research has raised hopes that doctors may one day be able to remove entire ovaries and freeze them before chemotherapy, and then later transplant the ovary back in place when treatment is completed. It remains to be demonstrated, however, that the procedure will work for humans and that it will be safe.
For the full story see the BBC website.
