Fertility preservation is an effort to help individuals retain their fertility or ability to conceive.

At the young age of 27, Jhanvi (name changed), who had been married for three months, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a type of cancer that affects the immune system. Starting a family had always been a part of the plan for newly-married Jhanvi and her husband, Rajesh. That is why they were advised to freeze their embryos before Jhanvi started her chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Six embryos were formed using Jhanvi's eggs and Rajesh's sperm and cryopreserved for use post the cancer treatment.

Cancer is a rising concern in India. A large number of men and women under the age of 40 are being diagnosed with various forms of cancer. This, in turn, is impacting their fertility in a big, often unnoticed, way. There is now a growing population of young survivors who face quality-of-life issues, including the prospect of having a child post cancer treatment. This is when oncofertility or fertility preservation comes to the rescue. Fertility preservation is an effort to help individuals retain their fertility or ability to conceive.

Dr. Manish Banker, Director, Nova IVI Fertility, said, "For the thousands of people battling cancer in India, a strong focus is on the life after cancer. As women in their late 30s or in early 40s face difficulties in conceiving babies naturally, egg freezing, also called oocyte cryopreservation, can help. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy involve certain drugs and exposure to radiations, which can effectively kill cancer cells and prevent relapses, but may also cause damage to the gametes i.e. eggs and sperms, causing difficulties in conceiving later. Fertility preservation gives hope to have a family after surviving cancer. Cancer patients have the option to freeze their eggs, sperms, or embryos prior to cancer treatment, so that if infertility unfortunately occurs, they can still conceive through IVF when they are cured."

Dr. Sandeep Shah, Fertility Consultant at Nova IVI Fertility, Ahmedabad, said about cancer and infertility, "Cancer may not directly affect the fertility, unless it's ovarian or testicular. However, the anti-cancer drugs can affect the ovaries and eventually reduce the reproductive capacity of women. Women are born with a finite number of eggs and in some, the treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy may lead to complete or partial loss of fertility potential. Some women may reach menopause immediately after chemotherapy, resulting in complete cessation of their monthly cycles. While others, whose menstrual cycles resume after cancer treatments, can conceive naturally only if their ovarian reserve is good both before and after the treatment. The effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in men include compromised sperm count, motility, morphology, and DNA integrity."