Xiaoxin, an 11-year-old leukemia patient, recently underwent an ovarian tissue freezing operation at the Peking University People’s Hospital (PKUPH) in preparation for a bone marrow transplant. The operation, also known as ovarian tissue cryopreservation, involves preserving a patient’s ovarian tissue at a low temperature, thereby saving their ability to get pregnant in the future. According to Tian Li, deputy head of the hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department, ovarian tissue freezing is the only fertility preservation option available for prepubescent girls.
The procedure is particularly suitable for female patients who require urgent surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy, which may cause ovarian damage or premature ovarian failure. During the operation, doctors remove tissues containing many follicles from the ovarian cortex and freeze them in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius. Once the patient’s condition improves, their ovarian tissue is thawed and returned to their body to restore endocrine and ovulation functions.
Xiaoxin was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia six months ago, which requires chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. However, these procedures would directly result in the loss of her fertility. According to Yang Xin, an expert with the obstetrics and gynecology department of PKUPH, female bone marrow transplant patients of childbearing age have a nearly 100% incidence rate of premature ovarian insufficiency after they receive myeloablative chemotherapy.
After the experts from PKUPH’s departments of obstetrics and gynecology, hematology, and pediatrics confirmed the feasibility of the operation, Xiaoxin underwent the several-hour-long ovarian tissue freezing operation. Wang Jianliu, deputy head of PKUPH, stated that this procedure is the best way for Xiaoxin to recover her endocrine and ovulation functions after the bone marrow transplant.
Aside from current ovarian tissue freezing technology, researchers in China have made constant breakthroughs in female fertility preservation methods. A group of scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China published their new findings in the journal Nature Communications last December, which revealed a new method to preserve mouse follicles at a low temperature. The method, vitrification cryopreservation of follicles encapsulated in hydrogel by “nanowarming,” increased the viability of follicles by more than 30% after recovery, making it a promising approach for fertility preservation in women. The research team has filed a patent for their new technology and expects it to be applied clinically in related hospitals in Anhui Province later this year.
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