If you or your family member has been diagnosed with cancer and still wish to conceive, you should know about “fertility preservation therapy.
In some cases, depending on the location of the cancer, pregnancy may not be possible, but in many cases pregnancy will be possible.
However, before starting anticancer treatment, other methods of fertility preservation therapy methods may be recommended depending on the treatment method.
↑This is true for both men and women.
Let’s take a closer look.
What is Fertility Preservation Therapy in Japan?
What exactly is fertility preservation therapy?
Fertility preservation therapy is a treatment option for young patients whose fertility may be impaired by anticancer drugs or other treatments, to provide an option for having children in the future.
This is true not only for women with cancer, but also for men.
Specifically, eggs, sperm, fertilized eggs, and ovarian tissue are harvested and cryopreserved for use in future pregnancies.
Types of Fertility Preservation Therapy
The main types of fertility preservation treatments are as follows
Oocyte freezing: Oocytes are harvested from the ovaries and cryopreserved. This is one of the most common methods, and multiple eggs can be harvested at the same time using hormone stimulation techniques.
Oocyte freezing is performed in the following steps
Hormone Stimulation: Hormones are administered to stimulate the ovaries to mature multiple eggs.
Oocyte retrieval: A fine needle is inserted under the guidance of transvaginal ultrasound to retrieve the eggs.
Oocyte freezing: The retrieved oocytes are rapidly cooled and cryopreserved by vitrification or lyophilization.
Benefits of Egg Freezing
Egg freezing offers the following advantages
Expanded options for future childbearing: Freezing eggs at a young age, before anticancer or other treatments impair fertility, can expand your options for having children in the future.
Freezing high quality eggs: As young women age, the quality of their eggs declines. Egg freezing can improve pregnancy rates by freezing high quality eggs at a young age.
Expand career options: For women who wish to postpone marriage or childbearing, egg freezing can be a way to expand their career options.
Disadvantages of Egg Freezing
There are some disadvantages to egg freezing, including the following
Costly: Egg freezing is an expensive medical procedure. It is not covered by health insurance, so you will have to pay the full amount.
No guarantee of pregnancy: Frozen eggs do not guarantee pregnancy. The pregnancy rate depends on the quality and age of the eggs, as well as the IVF technique.
Ethical Issues: There are ethical issues associated with egg freezing. Careful consideration must be given to the handling of surplus embryos.
Patients Eligible for Oocyte Freezing
Oocyte freezing is indicated for patients who meet the following conditions
Young women whose fertility may be impaired by anticancer or other treatments
Women who wish to have children in the future
Cost of Egg Freezing
The cost of egg freezing varies depending on the facility and treatment, but generally ranges from several hundred thousand yen to several million yen. The breakdown includes the following items
Hormone stimulants
Oocyte retrieval
Cryopreservation fee
Administration fee
Points to Consider When Undergoing Egg Freezing
When undergoing egg freezing, the following points should be noted.
Frozen eggs do not guarantee pregnancy.
Egg freezing must be done in combination with in vitro fertilization or other assisted reproductive treatments.
There are various ethical and other issues involved.
What is embryo freezing?
Embryo freezing is a technique for freezing and preserving fertilized eggs obtained through IVF or ICSI. It is known to have a higher pregnancy rate than the transfer of fresh embryos, and has been widely used in recent years in infertility treatment.
There are two main types of embryo freezing
Split embryo freezing: This method freezes a split embryo two to three days after fertilization. This is the most common method and is characterized by a high survival rate and pregnancy rate after freezing.
Blastocyst freezing: This method freezes a blastocyst on the fifth or sixth day after fertilization. It is more technically challenging than split embryo freezing, but the survival rate and pregnancy rate after freezing are even higher.
Patients Eligible for Embryo Freezing
Embryo freezing is indicated for patients who meet the following conditions
Patients who were able to culture multiple embryos through IVF or ICSI
Patients who wish to have frozen embryos transferred
Patients who wish to have children in the future
Cost of Embryo Freezing
The cost of embryo freezing varies depending on the facility and freezing method, but generally costs several hundred thousand yen. The breakdown includes the following items
Cryopreservation fee
Management fee
Thawing fee
What to Consider When Undergoing Embryo Freezing
When undergoing embryo freezing, the following points should be noted.
Frozen embryos do not guarantee pregnancy.
Embryo freezing must be done in combination with IVF or other assisted reproductive technologies.
There are various ethical and other issues that need to be addressed.
Benefits of Embryo Freezing
Embryo freezing offers the following advantages
Increased pregnancy rates: Frozen embryos are known to have higher pregnancy rates than fresh embryos.
Reduce the burden of IVF: If multiple embryos are frozen from a single egg retrieval, they can be transferred without having to wait for another egg retrieval.
Expand options for future fertility: For women who wish to have children in the future, embryo freezing is a way to expand their options.
Disadvantages of Embryo Freezing
Embryo freezing also has the following disadvantages
Costly: Embryo freezing is an expensive medical procedure. It is not covered by health insurance, so you must pay the full cost.
No assurance of pregnancy: There is no guarantee that a pregnancy will result from frozen embryos. The pregnancy rate depends on the quality and age of the embryos, as well as the IVF technique.
Ethical Issues: There are ethical issues associated with embryo freezing. Careful consideration must be given to the handling of surplus embryos.
About Sperm Freezing
Sperm freezing: Sperm is extracted from the testes and frozen for preservation. This is a relatively simple and safe method.
Sperm freezing is a technique for semi-permanent preservation of sperm by cooling them in liquid nitrogen (below -196°C). It is mainly used for the following purposes
Fertility treatment: Men with low sperm counts or problems with sperm function can preserve their sperm for future pregnancies.
Cancer treatment: freezing sperm prior to treatment for possible loss of fertility due to anti-cancer treatments, etc., allows for the preservation of offspring after the treatment is complete.
Other reasons: Healthy men who wish to have children in the future can also preserve their sperm for a variety of reasons.
Procedure
Selecting a medical institution: There are many medical institutions nationwide that offer sperm freezing services. It is important to choose one based on the compatibility with the doctor, the cost, and the facility’s facilities.
Counseling: Visit a medical institution and receive counseling from a doctor. The purpose, procedure, risks, and costs of sperm freezing will be explained to you and any questions you may have will be answered.
Examination: A semen analysis is performed to determine sperm count, motility, morphology, etc.
Sperm freezing: Sperm is collected through masturbation and frozen in liquid nitrogen.
Storage: Frozen sperm are stored in a liquid nitrogen tank.
Cost
The cost of sperm freezing varies from medical institution to medical institution, but is generally as follows
Freezing fee: 5,000 yen to several tens of thousands of yen
Storage fee: 5,000 yen to 10,000 yen per year
Preservation Period
Sperm preservation periods vary from medical institution to medical institution, but generally range from 10 to 50 years.
Legal and Ethical Issues
Sperm freezing raises the following legal and ethical issues
Legal rights of reproduction using frozen sperm: There are no clear laws regarding who has parental rights or inheritance rights to a child born from frozen sperm.
Ethical issues: There is concern that this may lead to the development of designer babies or cloning technology in the future.
If you are considering sperm freezing, you should be aware of the following points
Not all medical institutions have the same techniques: Sperm freezing techniques and success rates vary from institution to institution.
Success rates for IVF with frozen sperm are not always 100%: The success rate for IVF with frozen sperm depends on a variety of factors, including age and sperm quality.
Psychological burden: Sperm freezing can be psychologically taxing.
Summary
Fertility preservation therapy is a potentially important option for young patients who hope to have children in the future.
It is hoped that with the advancement of technology and social understanding, more and more patients will be able to use this treatment in the future.
If you or your family are considering children in the future, keep in mind that this option is available.
Whether you know it or not, I believe you will live without despair when you are diagnosed with cancer.
