Endocrine Abstracts

The world of reproductive medicine is unrecognisable from the early days of Mr Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards, who pioneered the technique of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) which after the first birth in 1978, has led to over 5 million children being born worldwide. Throughout this time ethical dilemmas have been debated a plenty, but none the less the technology has widened the opportunities for many who would otherwise have been left infertile from illness, genetic disposition or age. These technologies also provide the possibility for preserving the fertility for those who may be rendered sterile because of treatments for cancer.

Women need to go through a cycle of IVF treatment with stimulation of their ovaries, collection of the eggs which may be frozen directly or fertilised with sperm and frozen as embryos. Embryo cryopreservation is the most successful option if sperm can be supplied. Oocyte cryopreservation and ovarian tissue preservation are potential options that can offer some hope for future fertility.

Particular reference will be made to those with mosaic Turner’s syndrome and other conditions that predispose to premature ovarian failure and young people facing potentially sterilizing surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy for oncology treatments. There is also an ethical debate about elective cryopreservation of oocytes from young women before embarking upon a career, in order to defer parenthood until an older age when natural fertility will have declined.