Sexual HealthDVIF&G's SEEDS Program Provides A "Link To Life" For Cancer Patients
In a few weeks, Delaware Valley Institute of Fertility & Genetics (DVIF&G) will celebrate our first successful birth as a result of our SEEDS® program.
SEEDS® (Semen, Embryo & Egg Depository & Storage) is a six-year-old program that provides cancer patients, both male and female, with the technology and services required to help preserve their fertility.
When a patient is diagnosed with cancer, it is crucial to consider how the cancer itself and the subsequent treatments will impact fertility. Whether or not the cancer affects the reproductive system directly (as in the case of cervical or testicular cancer), radiation and chemotherapy treatments can have serious consequences on future fertility. DVIF&G"s team of experts works quickly with the oncology team to carefully craft a plan that safeguards the patient"s reproductive potential through the SEEDS® program. DVIF&G coordinates the extraction and freezing (cryopreservation) of oocytes from the female patient, freezing of sperm from the male patients, and developing and freezing embryos for the couple through in vitro fertilization (IVF) or in vitro maturation (IVM). IVM, with its brief course and minimal exposure to hormonal stimulation, is an ideal treatment method for fertility preservation in female patients.
"I believe that it"s important for anyone facing a cancer diagnosis to have this "link to life" - something to hold onto during the difficult period of cancer treatment," says Dr. George Taliadouros, director of the SEEDS® program at DVIF&G, "and the SEEDS® program at DVIF&G can help these patients retain something as important as their ability to someday have a family."
The six-year-old SEEDS® program has started to see its patients realizing their dream of having families after battling cancer. Their "link to life" that seemed distant five years ago during cancer treatment is now a reality.
Delaware Valley Institute of Fertility & Genetics