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Fertility Preservation Program (FPP)

The Fertility Preservation Program in Pittsburgh provides world-class fertility care services for adults and children. If you will be receiving cancer treatment, or you are getting ready to deploy with the armed forces, this is the time to explore options for having children in the future. The Fertility Preservation Program in Pittsburgh gives you options for having the family you always wanted or adding to the family you already have.

Adult men and women can freeze eggs, sperm, or embryos prior to cancer treatment or deployment. There are no standard options to preserve the fertility of boys and girls who are not yet producing mature eggs or sperm. For these young patients, we are approved to freeze testicular tissue (boys) or ovarian tissue (girls) that might be used in the future to restore fertility when experimental techniques emerge from the research pipeline.

Let’s get started together. To learn about the reproductive side effects of treatments and options to preserve fertility, contact one of our specialists today. This is a discussion that should ideally happen before toxic therapies are initiated or deployment into harm’s way.

The Fertility Preservation Program in Pittsburgh is committed to:

  • Educating patients and their physicians about the reproductive consequences of chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer or other conditions
  • Providing state of the art reproductive technologies to preserve fertility and treat infertility
  • Pioneering new reproductive technologies to preserve fertility and treat infertility
  • Rapidly translating these new technologies to the clinic
  • Training the next generation of clinicians and researchers in the rapidly evolving discipline of fertility preservation

For more information:

Visit our website at fertilitypreservationpittsburgh.org

Call the Fertility Preservation Dedicated Phone Line: 412-641-7475

Email us at fertilitypreservation@upmc.edu

Research Studies

The following studies are currently enrolling patients at this time. Please call our dedicated fertility preservation phone line at 412-641-7475 to learn more about the options for preserving your fertility.

Members

Kyle Orwig, PhD
Director, Fertility Preservation Program, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation

Joseph Sanfilippo, MD, MBA
Director, Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital

Glenn Cannon, MD
Pediatric Urology, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

Serena Chan, MD
Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

Erika Friehling, MD
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

Sunita Katari, MD
Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital

Marie Menke, MD, MPH
Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital

Lisa Parker, PhD
Director, Center for Bioethics and Health Law, University of Pittsburgh Department of Public Health

Hanna Pulaski (Valli), PhD
Program Coordinator, Fertility Preservation Program, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital

Sarah Steimer, MS
Program Coordinator, Fertility Preservation Program, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital

Additional Resources

Recent Publications on Fertility Preservation:

Valli-Pulaski H, Peters KA, Gassei K, Steimer SR, Sukhwani M, Hermann BP, Dwomor L, David S, Fayomi AP, Munyoki SK, Chu T, Chaudhry R, Cannon GM, Fox PJ, Jaffe TM, Sanfilippo JS, Menke MN, Lunenfeld E, Abofoul-Azab M, Sender LS, Messina J, Klimpel LM, Gosiengfiao Y, Rowell EE, Hsieh MH, Granberg CF, Reddy PP, Sandlow JI, Huleihel M, Orwig KE. Testicular tissue cryopreservation: 8 years of experience from a coordinated network of academic centers. Hum Reprod. 2019; May 21; doi: 10.1093/humrep/dez043. [PUBMED]

Fayomi A, Peters K, Sukhwani M, Valli-Pulaski H, Shetty G, Meistrich M, Houser L, Robertson N, Roberts V, Ramsey C, Hanna C, Hennebold J, Dobrinski I, Orwig KE. Autologous Grafting of Cryopreserved Prepubertal Rhesus Testis Produces Sperm and Offspring. Science. 2019; March 22; 363(6433): 1314-1319. doi: 10.1126/science.aav2914. [PUBMED], [PDF]

Rothenberg SS, Witchel SF, Menke MN. Oocyte Cryopreservation in a Transgender Male Adolescent. N Engl J Med. 2019; 380(9):886-887. [PUBMED]

Algarroba GN, Sanfilippo JS, Valli-Pulaski H. Female Fertility Preservation in the Pediatric and Adolescent Cancer Patient Population. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2018; 48:147-157. [PUBMED]

Heckmann L, Langenstroth-Röwer D, Pock T, Wistuba J, Stukenborg JB, Zitzmann M, Kliesch S, Schlatt S, Neuhaus N. A Diagnostic Germ Cell Score for Immature Testicular Tissue at Risk of Germ Cell Loss. Hum Reprod. 2018; 1;33(4):636-645. [PUBMED]

Chen D, Simons L, Johnson EK, Lockart BA, Finlayson C. Fertility Preservation for Transgender Adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 2017; 61(1):120-123. [PUBMED]

Poganitsch-Korhonen M, Masliukaite I, Nurmio M, Lähteenmäki P, van Wely M, van Pelt AMM, Jahnukainen K, Stukenborg JB. Decreased Spermatogonial Quantity in Prepubertal Boys with Leukemia Treated with Alkylating Agents. Leukemia. 2017; 31(6):1460-1463. [PUBMED]

Ladanyi C, Mor A, Christianson MS, Dhillon N, Segars JH. Recent Advances in the Field of Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation and Opportunities for Research. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2017; 34(6):709-722. [PUBMED]

Ho WLC, Bourne H, Gook D, Clarke G, Kemertzis M, Stern K, Agresta F, Heloury Y, Clark H, Orme L, Jayasinghe Y, Zacharin MR; Paediatric & Adolescent Fertility Preservation Task Force, Melbourne. A Short Report on Current Fertility Preservation Strategies for Boys. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2017; 87(3):279-285. [PUBMED]

Oktay K, Bedoschi G, Berkowitz K, Bronson R, Kashani B, McGovern P, Pal L, Quinn G, Rubin K. Fertility Preservation in Women with Turner Syndrome: A Comprehensive Review and Practical Guidelines. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2016; 29(5):409-416. [PUBMED]

Onofre J, Baert Y, Faes K, Goossens E. Cryopreservation of Testicular Tissue or Testicular Cell Suspensions: A Pivotal Step in Fertility Preservation. Hum Reprod Update. 2016; 22(6):744-761. [PUBMED]

Donnez J & Dolmans M-M. Ovarian cortex transplantation: 60 reported live births brings the success and worldwide expansion of the technique towards routine clinical practice. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. 2015; 32(8):1167-1170. [PUBMED]

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