Reproductive outcomes after oocyte banking for fertility preservation.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the reproductive outcomes of women who bank oocytes for fertility preservation? DESIGN: A prospective follow-up study of a cohort of 327 women who banked their oocytes for fertility preservation was carried out between July 2009 and August 2015. The indications for oocyte banking and outcomes of ovarian stimulation were collected from medical files. Follow-up data were obtained from an additional questionnaire. RESULTS: In total, 243 out of 327 women (74%) responded and 228 women (70%) consented to participate and returned the questionnaire. The median time to follow-up of these women was 31 months. A total of 101 women (44%) were trying, or had tried, to become pregnant after oocyte banking, of which 66 became pregnant (65%). Five women reported an unintended pregnancy. Of these, 71 women became pregnant, 76% conceived naturally, 7% through intracytoplasmic sperm injection with their vitrified-warmed oocytes and 17% by other medically assisted reproduction treatments. Six women attempted to achieve a pregnancy using their banked oocytes. Of the six pregnancies achieved in five women, two resulted in a live birth. A total of thirty-eight women reported a live birth at the time of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Oocyte banking can be considered a form of risk management or preventive medicine because it is not certain that the women will experience sterility in the future.