2008 Woodie Awards
Ovarian transplant makes childbirth possible for cancer survivors
Kristen Alldredge
Issue date: 9/30/04 Section: Health
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In Brussels, Belgium the first child was born to a cancer survivor after having an ovarian transplant. Denise Grady of the New York Times reported on Friday, Sept. 24 that this is first time a successful birth resulted from ovarian tissue that was removed, frozen and then re-implanted.
This operation of transplanting ovarian tissue was developed to give women whose ovaries would be damaged or destroyed by cancer treatment or other major surgery. Ourada Touirat was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1997 and had her tissue removed, hoping to preserve her fertility.
Chemotherapy treatment for cancer contains drugs that damage ovaries and cause premature menopause and infertility. Men undergoing chemo therapy have the option to preserve their reproductive cells by freezing them, but the process is more complicated and costly for women. The journal Lancet explains that one possibility is the cryopreservation of embryos conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF), but it is still regarded as experimental and has a lower success rate than embryo storage. On the other hand, harvesting and cryopreservation of ovarian tissue permits a woman to conceive naturally with her own eggs, and to delay pregnancy until she is healthy. Additionally, an ovarian graft makes natural sex steroids available in circumstances where hormone replacement therapy would be required.
The Times Herald Record reported on Friday, Sep. 24 that the removal of the tissue was performed by Dr. Jaques Donnez of Catholic University. Five years later, after Touirat was in remission and had undergone premature menopause, the ovarian tissue was grafted back into her Fallopian tubes. She became pregnant the natural way and gave birth to a healthy eight pound three ounce girl.
The birth of Touirat's daughter eases worry for cancer patients hoping to have children. The New York Times said that Dr. Donnez wants the ovary-freezing technique to be offered to all women with cancer who must undergo treatments that cause infertility.
This operation of transplanting ovarian tissue was developed to give women whose ovaries would be damaged or destroyed by cancer treatment or other major surgery. Ourada Touirat was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1997 and had her tissue removed, hoping to preserve her fertility.
Chemotherapy treatment for cancer contains drugs that damage ovaries and cause premature menopause and infertility. Men undergoing chemo therapy have the option to preserve their reproductive cells by freezing them, but the process is more complicated and costly for women. The journal Lancet explains that one possibility is the cryopreservation of embryos conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF), but it is still regarded as experimental and has a lower success rate than embryo storage. On the other hand, harvesting and cryopreservation of ovarian tissue permits a woman to conceive naturally with her own eggs, and to delay pregnancy until she is healthy. Additionally, an ovarian graft makes natural sex steroids available in circumstances where hormone replacement therapy would be required.
The Times Herald Record reported on Friday, Sep. 24 that the removal of the tissue was performed by Dr. Jaques Donnez of Catholic University. Five years later, after Touirat was in remission and had undergone premature menopause, the ovarian tissue was grafted back into her Fallopian tubes. She became pregnant the natural way and gave birth to a healthy eight pound three ounce girl.
The birth of Touirat's daughter eases worry for cancer patients hoping to have children. The New York Times said that Dr. Donnez wants the ovary-freezing technique to be offered to all women with cancer who must undergo treatments that cause infertility.