Question: how long could it take you to perfect this process and would be offered on the NHS as i can imagine that it costs a lot.

Vicki Onions answered on 22 Jun 2010:

Hi Maria
Oh, thats a toughie – part of me thinks that we are quite close to perfecting the whole ovarian technique, as some of my results and those of other people are very encouraging – a group abroad have even got a sheep pregnant and had a lamb from a previously frozen ovary. But to transfer the technique to humans can take a long long time as the medical groups have to be sure it is safe and offers some hope for the women involved, so that could take a lot longer.
The other method of preserving fertility, which is to take thin slices of the ovary and freeze those, can be now offered to patients (though not sure this is on the NHS or not).
As to whether it would be offered on the NHS, i’m really not sure; it is a medical intervention that should be able to be offered to children suffering cancer and so i would imagine its got a good case for being offered on the NHS, but as with a lot of these things, it may be that it depends on the individual health authorities to decide if they have enough money for it. The actual process of removing ovaries and freezing them does not cost a lot of money – the biggest initial expense is the specialised freezer you need to freeze the tissue and that costs over £10,000. But subsequent storage of the tissue can cost thousands more, especially if the tissue is removed from a child who would want it in storage for 20 years or so.
Oooops, sorry this turned into a bit of a mammoth e-mail! 🙂