A New Strategy and System for the Ex Vivo Ovary Perfusion and Cryopreservation

Abstract

Childern and young adults, who suffer from cancer, receive gonadotoxic therapy, which destroys their fertile abilities after survival. Ovarian cryopreservation and transplantation provides the promising solution to this problem, where the ovary can be removed before the gonadotoxic therapy and reimplanted after patient's survival, where the ovary is to be cryopreserved during the period of the therapy. However, cryopreservation of the whole ovary is still facing great obstacles, namely the ischemic reperfusion injury and the defective cryopreservation related to the defective ability to universally deliver the cryopreservation/warming solutions through the ovarian vascular bed. Meanwhile, the currently applied technique of ovarian tissue cryopreservation provides limited follicular recovery because many follicles are lost until the development of revascularization post-transplantation. To solve these problems, an innovative system has been developed to insure immediate and universal delivery of the cryopreservation/warming solutions to the graft, in addition to keeping the graft under continuous perfusion before and after cryopreservation, minimizing any chance for microthrombi fomation or ischemia- reperfusion. This innovative system can be applied in the following surgical and clinical interventions: 1. Allogeneic ovarian transplantation 2. Preservation of fertility after systemic chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation in young females, where the ovaries could be removed before the therapy and exposed to the adequate cryopreservation provided by the system till re-implantation after the patient's survival. 3. The system is also suitable for corresponding applications on the testicles.