title: Duration of fertility after fresh and frozen ovary transplantation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the function of human ovarian transplants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Follow a series of fresh ovarian transplants for up to 5 years, and compare fresh and frozen ovarian tissue transplantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary referral community hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine women with premature ovarian failure who received an ovary donated from a monozygotic twin sibling, and 16 young cancer patients undergoing ovarian cryopreservation. Two of the transplant recipients were cancer survivors rendered sterile by their therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fresh ovary transplantation between monozygotic twin sisters, as well as transplantation of previously frozen ovarian tissue, and study of cryopreserved tissue in cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Return of normal menstrual cycling, hormone levels, pregnancy, healthy babies, duration of transplant function, and ovarian tissue evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Normal serum FSH and regular menstrual cycles returned by 5 months after surgery in all cases, both fresh and frozen. Fourteen spontaneous pregnancies were established leading to eight healthy live births and two healthy ongoing conceptions. All three frozen tissue transplants conceived spontaneously, one delivered, and two were ongoing. Oocyte survival with slow freezing was 42% and after vitrification 89%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ovarian transplantation in humans is a robust procedure, even after cryopreservation, and vitrification might prove to be more effective than slow freezing.
authors.affiliation: Infertility Center of St. Louis, St. Luke's Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. silber@infertile.com
authors.forename: Sherman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Silber
authors.forename: Nori
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kagawa
authors.forename: Masashige
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuwayama
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gosden
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005615:Freezing; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery*; D050498:Live Birth / Q000453:epidemiology; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology; D010053:Ovary / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery / Q000637:transplantation*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult