The scope of our research group is fertility protection in young female cancer patient. It is important to improve existing protocols to increase the chances of a later pregnancy. That includes the vitrification of ovarian tissue and also the in vitro growth of follicles With the in vitro growth of ovarian follicular.
The crucial point is the multi-step tissue culture approach prior to the follicular isolation procedure as ovarian cortex tissue is very dense and limits follicular growth. Tissue vitrification is more complex than the slow freezing procedure, but it simplifies the whole process and has other advantages as well. We have shown that vitrification is a significant alternative to the common slow freezing protocol, which is supported by the previously reported five successful deliveries.
The stress of freezing and thawing as well as the undersupply after reimplantation, together with the reperfusion damage impacts follicular survival and leads to a significant decrease in the number of the follicles. Limiting the success of the therapy option, vitrification is thought to preserve the follicles with a similar or even greater success compared to slow freezing approaches. We aim, therefore, to bring vitrification to a pre-clinical setting, that will provide all cryobank the possibility for tissue cryo-preservation, despite any personal and financial limitations.
