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Frozen in Time

Preserve and Prolong Fertility

By Kelly Burgess

(Warner Books, 1998), is very involved in the most current research into fertility preservation. He recently performed an ovarian tissue transplant between 24-year-old identical twins. One is the mother of three; her sister has been in premature menopause since age 13. The sister that received the transplant now has periods, as well as a normal FSH level. Theoretically, she should be able to get pregnant.

Although fertility preservation is important to women facing cancer treatments, Dr. Silber points out that it also can be used to extend a woman's fertile years. Most of the patients who come to his clinic are over 40 and are experiencing fertility issues precisely because they put off having children either for career reasons or because they didn't have a partner until they were older. "We can do these procedures for cancer patients of any age who want to preserve their fertility, but we can also use them for the 30-year-old woman who doesn't want to have a baby until she's 40," he says. "Some of these procedures may provide a solution to the problem of a woman's finite reproductive years."

Now, thanks to technological advances, medical science may be able to exactly pinpoint the end of those years. Dr. Silber says that an ultrasound can be done on a young woman that takes a look at her tiny follicles, and they can predict when she'll go through menopause. He thinks the future of reproductive medicine is for this procedure to become part of the routine gynecological exam so that women can better plan their reproductive futures. Armed with this sort of information, many of the problems of fertility may be solved before infertility treatments are ever needed.

Want to see more?

• Fertile Hope: Cancer Patients and Fertility
• From Tragedy to Triumph: Fighting for Fertility During Serious Health Issues
• Sharing the Struggle: Should You or Shouldn't You?
• Talk about it!