Indications for cryopreservation of ovarian tissue

For patients who are planning to have chemotherapy, radiotherapyor to undergo bilateral oophorectomy, loss of ovarian functionwill result in premature ovarian menopause and loss of fertility.For these women, although there is no successful method forthe cryopreservation of human oocytes, ovarian tissue cryobankingis proposed with a view to its autotransplantation at a laterdate or the isolation and in-vitro maturation of oocytes. Embryopreservation is indeed not an option for single women and evenfor married women because delaying treatment for at least 2months of in-vitro fertilization cycles is inappropriate andlife-threatening. Following the success of animal experiments,there have been reports of ovarian cryopreservation for womenhaving to receive chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. We presentfour case reports of ovarian tissue cryobanking and review theconsequences of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on gonadal function,as well as the indications for freezing ovarian tissue.