Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Healthcare draws on the expertise of internationally renowned consultants, cutting-edge research and innovation to deliver best-in-class healthcare to patients from the Middle East and around the world.
Our private patient services are part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, which offers clinical excellence combined with the highest standards of care at one of the UK’s best-known, safest and most prestigious teaching hospitals.
Fertility is just one of many fields in which our pioneering research has made a significant difference in enhancing health provision. Indeed, two of our fertility services are at the forefront of innovation – our ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) service and our well-established centre for pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).
Fertility preservation
Ovarian tissue cryopreservation offers female cancer patients the opportunity to preserve their fertility before undergoing treatment such as chemotherapy or stem cell transplants that could make them infertile.
A gynaecologist will collect the ovarian tissue through keyhole surgery before or during chemotherapy. Then, after a safe interval, and when the patient is ready to start a family, they re-implant the ovarian tissue in the pelvis.
Using ovarian tissue is faster than other fertility preservation methods, such as the standard collection of oocytes or embryos, which can take up to three weeks and delay cancer treatment. In contrast, we can arrange for ovarian tissue cryopreservation within two to five days, reducing the delay.
OTC’s other advantage is that it gives women the chance to restore their menstrual cycle and conceive naturally, although many will still need in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Dr Julia Kopeika, clinical lead for the fertility service at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “We are delighted that we are able to offer life-changing treatment for young girls and women and the opportunity to preserve their fertility after gonadotoxic treatment.”
Guy’s and St Thomas’ recently expanded its OTC service to offer females aged 14 and over who are having chemotherapy the opportunity to freeze their ovaries at the world-renowned Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis
Another innovative treatment that has changed the face of fertility is our pre-implantation genetic diagnosis service, which is part of the globally respected Assisted Conception Unit (ACU) at Guy’s Hospital.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ has offered PGD since 1997 and is the largest and most successful PGD centre in the UK. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has licenced the service to research further improvements in treatment outcomes for our patients.
PGD is a type of IVF offered to couples at an increased risk of having a child with a specific genetic disorder. We test for 300 genetic conditions, including many widespread in the Middle East, such as sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and alpha thalassemia.
Embryologists perform the embryo biopsy step in PGD, removing a sample of cells from an embryo to test if they are affected by a genetic condition. Then, only the unaffected embryos are returned to the womb to avoid passing on the disorder to a child as pregnancy hopefully develops.
The ACU is dedicated to improving patient treatment outcomes and runs an extensive research portfolio of academic and commercial clinical trials. In addition, our leading consultants contribute to research and scientific evidence that continually drives forward innovations in the world of fertility.
• Learn more about OTC and PGD from our expert consultants, Dr Julia Kopeika and Professor Yacoub Khalaf, at Arab Health in January 2022.
• Contact us to find out more about our fertility services:
T: +44 (0)20 7188 2300
E: acupersonalisedcare@gstt.nhs.uk
www.guysandstthomasprivateheatlhcare.co.uk
