TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Chi Mei Medical Center in southern Taiwan has publicized a new procedure to preserve fertility in young girls diagnosed with cancer.

Speaking at a Chi Mei media briefing on Tuesday (Oct. 8), Wen Jen-yu (温仁育), a doctor specializing in reproductive medicine, obstetrics, and gynecology, said while cancer treatments can greatly impact women’s fertility, measures exist to ensure fertility is preserved post-treatment, per CNA.

Wen said she recently traveled to Belgium to study ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation, which she said have been practiced there for around 20 years. She said unlike egg freezing, which is only possible for women of childbearing age, ovarian tissue cryopreservation is an option to preserve the fertility of prepubescent girls who require chemotherapy for cancer treatment.

Belgian doctors successfully performed a transplant of frozen ovarian tissue from a patient that was taken before they began cancer treatment in 2004, Wen said. She said after the patient recovered from the cancer, she gave birth to the world’s first baby using this method.

After studying the procedure in Belgium, Chi Mei Medical Center has completed relevant technical preparations for the transplant procedure, and has already provided consultations for some patients, Wen said.

Wen said that more people in Taiwan should be able to consult doctors on fertility preservation methods when they are diagnosed with cancer. She said this has previously not been the case in Taiwan, where people often prioritize treatment over consultation.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine notes that “ovarian tissue banking” is the only method to preserve fertility for prepubescent girls with cancer. “Ovarian tissue cryopreservation should be considered an established medical procedure with limited effectiveness that should be offered to carefully selected patients,” according to the society’s website.