.svg){kind=small}
Understanding the Shifts in Women's Reproductive Life Cycle
Periods cease, female hormones decrease leading to brittle bones, or on the opposite end of the scale they increase to uncomfortable levels causing hot sweats and a general depressing-feeling. Menopause education and support therapy is often limited. There is a lack of education for most women who face menopause alone, and struggle alone.
The idea of menopause is often not in the thinking of younger women but starts to loom larger when women think about starting their own family. ‘What happens in the next stage of my reproductive life cycle?’
Navigating Menopause
"It is true that in some cases the menopause causes fewer problems compared to other women. Some women may endure little or no menopausal symptoms. Unfortunately for the majority of women menopause is not that easy. The symptoms to name a few would include the increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, vasomotor symptoms, decreased libido, depression, urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction and diminished cognitive function."
In many developed countries the health services would include providing access to menopause clinics to try to help women with this range of menopause-related issues. The main option for such women is to use the Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), but unfortunately, this is not agreeable to, or for all women. Many do not wish to take pharmaceutical hormones, and the delivery of these hormones does not follow the natural rhythms of the body’s own hormones.
Egg Freezing Vs. Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation
Embarking on a fertility preservation journey? Discover the key differences between two powerful options – Egg Freezing and Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation. Explore the unique advantages each method offers, empowering you to make informed decisions about your reproductive future.
-
OTC
-
Egg Freezing
OTC
- Does not require any premedication.
- Just one visit to the clinic for tissue removal following consultation.
- Timing for tissue removal to fit in with patient.
- Hundreds or thousands of eggs would be preserved in the stored tissue.
- The tissue could be used both for fertility preservation (some of it) and hormone preservation - using to delay menopause (the remainder of it). So both the fertility preservation and menopause delay could result from one procedure.
- 50% of patients with OTC for fertility preservation have conceived naturally after autografting - so good chance IVF will not be needed.
- Provides multiple opportunities to conceive.
Egg Freezing
- Requires ovarian stimulants.
- Following consultation treatment necessitates regular visits to clinic for monitoring of ovaries before egg collection.
- Egg collection occurs when follicles are mature - indeterminate timing.
- Requires a minimum of 20 mature eggs frozen for a reasonable chance of a baby.
- Due to above many patients require multiple cycles and clinics offer strategies such as reduced fees for up to 3 cycles.
- Requires IVF in the future to achieve a pregnancy.
- If only one child is produced from the egg cohort, then there is no future option for one's own eggs as the cryostorage supply has been exhausted.
Who Should Freeze Ovarian Tissue?
ProFaM is not for everyone, and not for those who are already in the menopause because that means the biological clock has already expired, the ovary has ceased to function and we cannot reverse that. ProFaM is also not for those who are close to the menopause for the same reason; when we freeze the tissue, we preserve it at that moment in time. If the ovary was programmed to go into the menopause a year later, the maximum opportunity for a delay would be a year, or less.
The very best opportunity is when a woman is young as the tissue is destined to last many years or one or two decades more. As a general rule ProFaM patients will ideally be under 35. Our advice will be up to 35 for fertility preservation and possibly up to 40 for hormonal preservation. However, any final decision can only be taken after a few ‘ovarian reserve’ tests are undertaken, following a consultation. These tests involve hormone evaluation and an ultrasound scan of the ovary.
ProFaM is designed for different groups of patients including cancer patients; those with benign but severe conditions that require pelvic surgery (such as non-cancerous ovarian tumours, those suffering from a torsion or severe endometriosis); endocrine and genetic conditions or autoimmune disorders.
Family burden - the occurrence of premature menopause in the mother or grandmother
'Social Freezing' / financed by the employer, state health insurance or private insurance companies
Women who wish to be in control of their reproductive health
Oncology patients, women with health problems requiring chemotherapy or other treatment that harms the body's reproductive functions.
Premature ovarian failure in a sister
Women with Short Cycle Disorder
Meet Our Team
We are an international multidisciplinary team of experts in the field of reproductive medicine and women's health led by Professor Simon Fishel.
Prof. Simon Fishel
Chairman of the board
Prof. Yousri Afifi
Chief Medical Officer
Prof. Christiani Amorim
Chief Scientific Officer
JUDr. Matej Stejskal
Chief Executive Officer
Declan Keane, MBA. MSc.
Chief Commercial Officer
Lukas Beranek
Chief Operating Officer
Ing. Adela Hojdarova
Chief Financial Officer
Frequently Asked Questions
Empower yourself with knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of the processes and considerations involved in a transformative aspect of reproductive healthcare.
If I simply want to delay menopause and not get pregnant, what should I do?
For hormone replacement use of the tissue only we have various strategies to ensure that you will not become pregnant, which does not involve taking drugs or medicines. For example, the tissue can be grafted back to an area from which it is not possible to conceive, but hormone production remains uninhibited. When you wish to have the tissue reimplanted, the timing will be your choice with the guidance of your consultant. And the location within your body you transfer the tissue depends upon individual circumstances, and as there are a number of options. Your particular situation needs to be discussed with your consultant.
If you prefer not to have menstruation post tissue reimplantaion, then these can be prevented, again without the need of drugs, and this needs to be fully discussed with your specialist.
Is there a risk of scar tissue formation which might affect the tube and the ability of spontaneous pregnancy?
There is no evidence that ovarian surgery affects the future ability to conceive. We use the microsurgical principles through a key hole surgery which is known to reduce the risk of any scar formation significantly.
Is there a risk of loss of the eggs because of the cut of blood supply or freezing?
The risk of cutting blood supply is very low, but should this happen, or there is an effect of freezing, you will end up losing some of the follicles existing in the tissue. However, depending upon your age there should be a large number of follicles so you will still have enough follicles to function as normal
