Fertility Treatments For Women

Methods include ways to preserve fertility as well as carry a pregnancy safely. Our specialists will explain which options may be helpful in your situation:

Embryo Freezing

Most proven method of fertility preservation for women
Ovaries hormonally stimulated to produce multiple eggs
Eggs removed and fertilized in laboratory with sperm from partner or donor – a process called in vitro fertilization (IVF)
Embryos created by IVF frozen for future use, may be kept frozen indefinitely

Egg Freezing

Ovaries stimulated as in IVF
Eggs removed and frozen without fertilization
May be appropriate for women who do not want to use donor sperm
Pregnancy rates from frozen eggs are slightly lower than from frozen embryos

Ovarian Tissue Freezing

Highly experimental
Ovarian tissue removed, frozen, then implanted later to develop eggs
Eggs then removed, fertilized and re-implanted
Worldwide, only a few babies have been born from this method

Ovarian Shielding

Reduces damage to ovaries and eggs during radiation treatment by placing special shields over area of pelvis not receiving radiation

Ovarian Transposition

Surgically moves ovaries away from area being radiated
May cause loss of ovarian function

Fertility-Sparing Surgery

Certain gynecologic cancers may be removed with surgical approaches that retain reproductive function – Avoids full hysterectomy, which would end ability to become pregnant

Other Options

If cancer treatment damages ovaries, donor eggs or donor embryos can be used
A gestational surrogate may be an option if you cannot carry a pregnancy after cancer treatment

Honored for Cancer Expertise

The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer awarded Abington's program the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2012 and 2015, one of only eight programs nationwide to earn this award two survey cycles in a row.

CoC Outstanding Achievement Award 2012