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Freezing eggs works to save fertility

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United Press International

Monday, October 18, 2004

PHILADELPHIA, Oct 18, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Freezing a woman's eggs and ovarian tissue is a promising way to preserve fertility but still experimental, U.S. reproductive experts said Monday.

Researchers at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's annual conference issued a report that said cryopreservation has improved and a child recently was born from previously frozen ovarian tissue. The technique offers women faced suddenly with the prospect of losing their reproductive tissue, often because of cancer treatments, a way to preserve their chances to have a baby.

The technique is not so well developed, though, that it should be offered as an option for women who merely want to delay child bearing, the report said.

Though experience with egg freezing is limited, it appears to be safe for the patient and offspring. It still is an investigational procedure, however, and should only be performed with the formal approval and oversight of an Institutional Review Board.

"The ongoing research in this area is quite promising," said Dr. Marc A. Fritz, chair of the ASRM Practice Committee. "However, at this time these options should only be offered to patients enrolled in approved clinical trials."



Copyright 2004 by United Press International.

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