There are many factors that can affect fertility, such as cancer treatments or aging. Nowadays, fertility preservation treatments are applied to protect the couple’s chances of pregnancy in the future.

Especially through vitrification methods where egg and sperm cells are frozen, the chances of pregnancy are preserved for the couple.

Fertility Preservation for Women

Treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy can damage ovarian reserves and eliminate the chance of pregnancy. Therefore, freezing eggs is strongly recommended for all women, whether married or not, who will undergo cancer treatment. Additionally, women with a low ovarian reserve can freeze embryos if married, or eggs if unmarried.

The procedures for preserving a woman's fertility are as follows:

• Egg cell freezing,
• Ovarian tissue freezing,
• Embryo freezing.

Egg freezing is done through classical IVF, i.e., in vitro fertilization treatment. High-quality egg cells obtained are frozen for future use. The freezing process is prepared using the vitrification method. For this process, the ovaries are first stimulated, the eggs are then collected, and the best ones are frozen. This process takes approximately 2–3 weeks.

In cases such as breast cancer, where elevated estrogen levels in the blood may adversely affect the course of the disease, medications like Femara (letrozole) are used, which do not negatively affect the course of the disease. Embryo freezing is a valid option for married women.

In this method, applied with a board report, the sperm taken from the father and the eggs from the mother are fertilized. The resulting embryos are frozen and stored.

What Are Fertility Preservation Treatments for Men?

Just as in women, men may also face diseases that hinder reproduction. Especially before planned treatments, sperm cells can be frozen and stored for future use.

In cancer treatments or in cases affecting testicular function, freezing sperm is important to preserve the chance of fatherhood. Sperm is frozen after obtaining a board report.

• Before treatments like chemotherapy or radiotherapy that could harm sperm cells, sperm can be collected and stored.
• In cases of surgeries that may lead to loss of reproductive function (such as testicle removal), sperm freezing is recommended.
• If sperm has been obtained through surgical methods, freezing it is important to avoid repeating the procedure.
• In the presence of severe low sperm count (to avoid the risk of no sperm being found in the future), sperm freezing is advised.

Reproductive cell freezing should only be performed by successful and experienced teams and centers. To ensure thawed cells can be reused effectively, expertise and the use of the latest technology are of great importance.