Q&A

What is ovarian tissue transplantation and what is it for?

Healthy slivers of ovary are removed from a woman’s body and placed in cold storage until a future date when she wants to delay the menopause and they are re-implanted. Because the slivers contain thousands of healthy eggs, they can keep a woman naturally fertile for longer. They produce female sex hormones which prevent the symptoms of menopause. The treatment can delay menopause by up to 20 years.

Is it safe? What are the drawbacks?

It has been used thousands of times in cancer patients to preserve fertility. The keyhole surgery to remove the ovarian tissue has a small risk of complications. Critics say damaging the healthy ovary to remove tissue may increase chances of infertility. In one in 1,000 cases of keyhole surgery, there are serious complications, such as cuts to a blood vessel, or injury to the bowel.

Is it better than women freezing eggs?

To freeze her eggs, a woman must inject herself daily with hormone treatment, and then the healthy eggs are removed. While this technique can generate dozens of eggs, tissue transplantation allows thousands of eggs to be re-implanted in the body.

What menopause symptoms does it hope to prevent?

Hot flushes, loss of sex drive, thinning bones and mood swings are all linked to the menopause.

What are the advantages over HRT?

Ovarian tissue produces hormones in a more natural way than HRT, which is not welltolerated by some women.