It’s been a big week for those of us in the fertility community — the American Society for Reproductive Medicine kicked off its 68th annual meeting in San Diego this year, with some big announcements coming our way. On Monday, the ASRM’s Practice Committee released a report on the viability of egg freezing for young women, moving the practice out of experimental status and further into the mainstream of fertility preservation practices.

In their study “Mature Oocyte Cryopreservation,” the ASRM revealed egg freezing technology as having “pregnancy rates and health outcomes comparable to those of IVF with fresh eggs” and that the practice should no longer be marketed as experimental.

Egg freezing, frozen embryo transfers, and vitrification are among the fertility preservation and treatment options we offer here at New Hope, and we’re happy to have the backing of the ASRM. At one time, egg freezing was only offered to cancer patients wishing to preserve their fertility pre-chemotherapy treatments, which often compromise fertility.  At New Hope, we’ve safely and effectively practiced egg freezing with vitrification for any patient wanting to wait for the right time or save embryos from their first cycle for several years now. Through the use of our flash-freezing method, vitrification, our team has welcomed high success rates, exemplifying their position as leaders in fertility preservation through the use of only the best and latest egg freezing techniques.

Want more? Check out ASRM online. For a closer look into our success with egg freezing, vitrification, and frozen embryo transfers, check out our past IVF success stories.

New Hope Fertility Center’s Founder and Medical Director Dr. John Zhang recently returned from China’s Guangdong province after successfully completing the country’s first ovarian tissue transplant.

Along with Dr. Sherman Silber, the two New Hope doctors donated their expertise to conduct the procedure, which was performed at the Reproductive Medicine Research Center (RMRC) of the 6th Affiliated Hospital at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China.  Dr. Zhang introduced Dr. Liang of RMRC to the procedure, who had also read Silber’s publications focused on his experience with ovarian tissue transplants.

The identical twin sisters, who are 31 years of age, each underwent the minimally invasive surgery for less than 6 hours, transferring part of the healthy ovarian tissue from the donor sister to Fang (pseudonym), who suffered from premature ovarian failure (doctors speculate this was due to her exposure to chemicals at work as a young adult).

Fang’s sister was able to act as donor without either of the twins having to take anti-rejection medications since they have identical loci (the specific location of a DNA sequence a chromosome).  The two sisters left the operating room with a scar just 1 to 2 inches long, and the donor sister has since fully recovered.  Her ovarian function was not affected by the surgery since the procedure required only a small portion of her ovarian tissue.

According to Chinese reports, Fang’s ovarian failure caused her to exhibit the physiological and physical traits of a 60 year old menopausal woman.  Along with struggling with the issues that arise with infertility, Fang had to deal with looking old enough to be her twin’s mother, while also experiencing the symptoms that come with menopause — dryness, sensitivity, and depression, among other things.

Thanks to the expert hands of Dr. John Zhang and Dr. Sherman Silber; however, Fang’s premature aging is now a thing of the past.  Within a week, Fang will be able to return to a normal and healthy sex life, and within just 3 months, Fang’s ovarian function will return as regular menstruation sets in, making it possible for her to conceive naturally for the first time in 7 years.

Fang and her doctors in China decided to go forward with the ovarian transplant due to a shortage of egg donors.  Ovarian transplants yield similar pregnancy rates to those who use donor eggs to conceive, and are favorable in cases where there is a desire to restore ovarian function so the patient can conceive naturally (versus oocyte donation, which still requires fertility treatment and does not restore ovarian function).

Congratulations to the father of New Hope on this enormous achievement!

Entertainment News host Guliana Rancic has been braving her battle with breast cancer head on, with major news outlets covering her story as she shares everything from her initial diagnosis to her most recent decision to undergo a double mastectomy.

Rancic’s account of her journey through breast cancer is inspiring, and reminds us of several important topics concerning women’s reproductive health. While it is typically recommended that women get a yearly mammogram starting at age 40, those with a familial history of breast cancer are encouraged to begin screenings earlier.

Rancic was starting IVF treatments when her doctor discovered she had breast cancer. Luckily for Rancic and other women who suffer from cancer, huge strides have been made in the field of oncofertility. In fact, our medical director here at New Hope Fertility Center, Dr. John Zhang, has discussed the topic of oncofertility extensively, and the subject was discussed in a meeting of fertility experts hosted by The International Center for Scientific Debate (ICSD) in July of this year.

Oncofertility provides women with the possibility of getting pregnant even after undergoing cancer treatments, and encourages cancer patients to consider preserving their fertility through the latest egg freezing techniques, such as vitrification, for use in IVF after cancer treatment. The availability of these advances in the field of fertility preservation give women dealing with cancer a new element of hope concerning their ability to become mothers as they undergo their fight against illness.

We wish Rancic a speedy recovery and hope she continues to pursue her dream of becoming a mother.