Pediatric and Adolescent Committee and Basic Science Committee Ovarian Tissue Resources
The advent of ovarian tissue cryopreservation has allowed an unprecedented view of young pediatric ovaries. Now that this procedure is no longer considered experimental it is performed at many sites throughout the United States. The Pediatric and Adolescent and Basic Science Committees of the Oncofertility Consortium are uniquely positioned to facilitate research cooperation between clinicians and researchers. In this page we have provided sites which collect human ovarian tissue for research at the time of OTC and human ovary investigators.
Sites Collecting Human Ovary Tissue for Research
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
(Tissues are collected from NICHD as well as Children’s National)
- Underlying conditions: conditions requiring gonadotoxic therapies (cancer, hematologic conditions, rare conditions requiring bone marrow transplantation), conditions associated with accelerated follicle loss (Turner syndrome, classic galactosemia), post-menarcheal adolescents with recent premature ovarian insufficiency or diminished ovarian reserve unresponsive to follicle stimulation for oocyte cryopreservation.
Percent of tissue collected, techniques for collection: 20% of tissue collected in the operating room using a sausage cut approach (includes medulla and cortex): 5% is fixed in formalin per pathology protocols for histologic evaluation, the remaining sausage cut is cut in half and flash frozen (usually in OCT media) or fixed in Davidson’s solution.
- Tissues from deceased healthy donors age 0-45 are collected through organ procurement organizations
Percent of tissue collected, techniques for collection: 100% of tissue is collected in the operating room and cut into 12 regions of the ovary described by the NICHD Ovarian Nomenclature Workshop (NICHD Ovarian Nomenclature Workshop 2021 – Veronica Gomez-Lobo Program | NICHD – Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (nih.gov)). Tissue from each region is fixed in different fixatives and flash frozen.
Contact: veronica.gomez-lobo@nih.gov
Research – Veronica Gomez-Lobo Program | NICHD – Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (nih.gov)
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Comprehensive Fertility Care and Preservation Program
Underlying conditions: Conditions requiring gonadotoxic therapy (cancer, hematologic conditions, bone marrow transplantation, renal and rheumatologic conditions requiring alkylating agent therapy), conditions associated with accelerated follicle loss (Turner syndrome, etc). Tissue comprises both prepubertal and pubertal populations.
Percent of tissue collected, technique for collection: Whole ovary removed in operating room, transported to pathology for processing and freezing. The ovarian cortex is dissected from the medulla and cut into strips in culture/holding media, washed to remove blood cells, and passed through a series of cryopreservation solutions with increasing concentrations of cryoprotectants (including but not limited to propanediol, glycerol or ethylene glycol, 0-15% sucrose, 0-0.3M) (Freezing Media). The tissues are placed in cryovials or straws containing freezing media and frozen using a programmable freezer to cool tissues from 20 degrees to -40 degrees Celsius using defined ramps or vitrified directly or will be vitrified by direct plunge into liquid nitrogen. The vials or straws are placed in liquid nitrogen for storage. 20% of tissue is stored for research.
Contact: karen.burns@cchmc.org
https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/f/fertility-preservation
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Tissues from deceased donors are collected through organ procurement organizations
Underlying conditions: healthy donors between 0 to 45 years old
Percent of tissue collected, techniques for collection: 100% of tissue delivered to the lab. One sausage cut is performed in ovary. All the cortex is cryopreserved using the slow freeze method. The medulla is fixed in formalin per pathology protocols for histologic evaluation
Contact: shikanov@umich.edu
Home | Shikanov Lab | Univ. of Michigan (umich.edu)
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
- Female reproductive tracts from deceased donors are collected through organ procurement organizations.
Underlying conditions: no exclusions
Percent of tissue collected, techniques for collection: Tissue is transferred to the lab and distributed to Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology collaborators. Ovaries are processed in the Laronda Lab as described here: Ovarian tissue processing from organ donor
- Ovarian tissue for research is collected from ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) participants
Underlying conditions: Individuals participating in Lurie Children’s OTC IRB protocol due to an underlying disease or treatment that will put them at high or significant increased risk of gonadal insufficiency and who opt in to donate discarded medullary tissue and/or a tissue biopsy. Patient ages range from 0 – 23 years and may or may not have had previous treatments.
Contact: Monica M. Laronda mlaronda@luriechildrens.org
LarondaLab.org | LurieChildrens.org/Fertility
Sites Conducting Human Ovary Tissue for Research
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Type of research: histologic evaluation, single nucleus and spatial genomics, immunohistochemistry, plan cell/tissue culture and experiments on follicle activation and inhibition
Research – Veronica Gomez-Lobo Program | NICHD – Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (nih.gov)
Rutgers University
Type of research: Ex vivo and microfluidic culture of ovarian tissues or follicles, vitrification, investigate ovarian toxic mechanisms of anti-cancer agents, fertoprotective drug development.
Webpage: https://eohsi.rutgers.edu/eohsi-directory-2/name/shuo-xiao/
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Type of research: Ex vivo culture of ovarian tissue (mainly mouse ovary). Investigation of death mechanism of primordial follicles induced by chemotherapy
https://www.unmc.edu/obgyn/research/academic-research/kim/index.html
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Type of research: histologic evaluation, single cell RNA sequencing and spatial genomics, immunohistochemistry, cell/tissue culture and experiments on follicle activation and inhibition
Contact: shikanov@umich.edu
Home | Shikanov Lab | Univ. of Michigan (umich.edu)
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Type of research: Human BioMolecular Cell Atlas Program – generating transcriptome, protein, matrisome, cell, vessel atlas of human ovaries through complete reproductive life span; proteoforms of ooplasm from pre and postpubertal oocytes, characterization of subanatomical structures, primary cell interstitial cell culture, in vitro follicle growth
Contact: Monica M. Laronda mlaronda@luriechildrens.org
LarondaLab.org | LurieChildrens.org/Fertility | HuBMAP
Watch related webinar on Human Ovarian Tissue Collection and Research Priorities (June 13, 2024)