Recent progress in oocyte and ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation

Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation is an experimental tech nique that has been developed to sustain the reproductive function of women and children who are faced with sterilizing chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or radical reproductive surgery. Oocyte cryopreservation, on the other hand, is less feasible in the context of cancer because there is usually inadequa te time to complete an ovarian stimulation cycle. The main promise of oocyt e cryopreservation is that it offers an alternative when embryo freezing is not possible for technical, regulatory, or religious reasons. Oocyte freez ing is more suitable for a single woman when the concern is age-related dec line in fecundity. There have been significant scientific advances in the f ield of cryopreservation of ovarian tissue and oocytes, especially within t he past few years. Ovarian function has been reported after the first cases of ovarian transplantation, and the number of pregnancies from cryopreserv ed oocytes has grown. Ovarian tissue and oocyte freezing can now be recomme nded in a carefully selected group of patients, provided that these options are offered under protocols that are approved by an institutional review b oard. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 13:263-268. (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & W ilkins.