This is the current release of the guideline.

All technical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time.

Guidance for Counseling of Parents and Patients About Preservation of Fertility Options in Children and Adolescents with Cancer

Evaluation of candidacy for fertility preservation should involve a team of specialists, including a pediatric oncologist and/or radiation oncologist, a fertility specialist, an ethicist, and a mental health professional.

1. Cryopreservation of sperm should be offered whenever possible to male patients or families of male adolescents.
2. Current fertility-preservation options for female children and adolescents should be considered experimental and are offered only in selected institutions in the setting of a research protocol.
3. In considering actions to preserve a child's fertility, parents should consider a child's assent, the details of the procedure involved, and whether such procedures are of proven utility or experimental in nature. In some cases, after such consideration, acting to preserve a child's fertility may be appropriate.
4. Instructions concerning disposition of stored gametes, embryos, or gonadal tissue in the event of the patient's death, unavailability, or other contingency should be legally outlined and understood by all parties, including the patient if possible.
5. Concerns about the welfare of a resultant offspring with respect to future cancer risk should not be a cause for denying reproductive assistance to a patient.

None provided

The type of evidence supporting the recommendations is not specifically stated.

Not applicable: The guideline was not adapted from another source.

2008 May

American Academy of Pediatrics - Medical Specialty Society

American Academy of Pediatrics

Committee on Bioethics

Section on Hematology/Oncology

Section on Surgery

Committee on Bioethics, 2006-2007: Douglas S. Diekema, MD, MPH, Chairperson; Armand H. Matheny Antommaria, MD, PhD; Mary E. Fallat, MD; Ian R. Holzman, MD; Steven R. Leuthner, MD; Lainie F. Ross, MD, PhD; Sally Webb, MD

Liaisons: Jeffrey L. Ecker, MD, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Marcia Levetown, MD, American Board of Pediatrics; Ellen Tsai, MD, Canadian Paediatric Society

Legal Consultant: Dena S. Davis, JD, PhD

Staff: Allison Baker

Section on Hematology/Oncology Executive Committee, 2006-2007: Stephen A. Feig, MD, Chairperson; Roger L. Berkow, MD, Immediate Past Chairperson; Alan S. Gamis, MD; Jeffrey D. Hord, MD; Eric D. Kodish, MD; Peter A. Lane, MD; Eric J. Werner, MD

Former Executive Committee Member: John J. Hutter, Jr, MD

Staff: Laura Laskosz

Section on Surgery Executive Committee, 2006-2007: Kurt D. Newman, MD, Chairperson; Mary L. Brandt, MD; Kevin P. Lally, MD; Michael D. Klein, MD, Immediate Past Chairperson; Richard R. Ricketts, MD; Robert C. Shamberger, MD; Brad W. Warner, MD

Staff: Aleksandra Stolic

Not stated

This is the current release of the guideline.

All technical reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time.

None available

None available

This NGC summary was completed by ECRI Institute on April 7, 2009. The information was verified by the guideline developer on April 23, 2009.

This NGC summary is based on the original guideline, which is subject to the guideline developer's copyright restrictions. Please contact the Permissions Editor, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), 141 Northwest Point Blvd, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007.