Transplantation of ovarian tissue

Abstract

Since the first live birth after orthotopic transplantation of frozen-thawed ovarian tissue, >40 babies have been born. It is time to consider fertility preservation in women as one of the foremost challenges of the next decade and to offer women facing the risk of induced or iatrogenic premature menopause the best chances of becoming mothers. Heterotopic transplantation has also been attempted, with consistent restoration of endocrine function; nonetheless, its clinical value remains questionable as it may not provide an optimal environment for follicular development, possibly because of differences in temperature, pressure, paracrine factors and blood supply. Finally, orthotopic allo-transplantation of fresh human ovarian tissue has been successfully attempted between monozygotic twins and also between genetically different sisters. The next step in this field will be the development of an artificial ovary, using, as a support, a biodegradable scaffold made of an alginate matrigel matrix onto which isolated preantral follicles and ovarian cells can be grafted.