Recent advances: fertility preservation and fertility restoration options for males and females

Abstract

Fertility preservation is the process of saving gametes, embryos, gonadal tissues and/or gonadal cells for individuals who are at risk of infertility due to disease, medical treatments, age, genetics, or other circumstances. Adult patients have the options to preserve eggs, sperm, or embryos that can be used in the future to produce biologically related offspring with assisted reproductive technologies. These options are not available to all adults or to children who are not yet producing mature eggs or sperm. Gonadal cells/tissues have been frozen for several thousands of those patients worldwide with anticipation that new reproductive technologies will be available in the future. Therefore, the fertility preservation medical and research communities are obligated to responsibly develop next-generation reproductive technologies and translate them into clinical practice. We briefly describe standard options to preserve and restore fertility, but the emphasis of this review is on experimental options, including an assessment of readiness for translation to the human fertility clinic.

Enhancement of Vascularization and Ovarian Follicle Survival Using Stem Cells in Cryopreserved Ovarian Tissue Transplantation—A Systematic Review

“…Therefore, fertility preservation options should be considered in individuals of reproductive age or younger before receiving gonadotoxic therapy [1][2][3]. While mature oocyte and embryo cryopreservation present standard-of-care approaches, ovarian tissue cryopreservation remains the only option for prepubertal girls and patients who require immediate start of treatment (and hence cannot undergo controlled ovarian stimulation) [4,5]. Moreover, transplanted ovarian tissue (OT) offers the possibility of restoring not only fertility but also endocrine ovarian function [6].…”

Microenvironment factors promoting the quality of vitrified cat oocytes

“…Among germplasm cryopreservation options, gamete banking is probably the one that offers the best balance between efficiency and flexibility. Gonadal tissue preservation could offer the chance to store abundant germ cells, but it is still technically challenging, especially with regards to development of such gamete precursors into mature gametes after thawing, either in vivo post grafting or in vitro after culture [7]. Instead, gamete banking already proved to be successful, to some extent.…”

Germ Cell Maintenance and Sustained Testosterone and Precursor Hormone Production in Human Prepubertal Testis Organ Culture with Tissues from Boys 7 Years+ under Conditions from Adult Testicular Tissue

“…Fertility preservation refers to the freezing of germ cells or of gonadal tissue in the case of a given risk of infertility for the patient due to disease, medical treatment, age, or other influences [14]. Cryopreservation of sperm for fertility preservation prior to a gonadotoxic therapy, different from adult males, is not an option for prepubertal boys since no spermatids are produced before puberty.…”