Bourn Hall helps deliver scientific milestone as ovarian tissue stored for 25 years leads to successful birth

A remarkable story of fertility preservation and perseverance

We’re pleased to see Bourn Hall mentioned in The Times in the extraordinary story of Kassandra Bacon, who has given birth to a son after ovarian tissue stored 25 years ago was transplanted back into her.

Before commencing emergency cancer treatment at the age of 18, thin slices of Kassandra’s ovarian tissue were frozen and stored at Bourn Hall Fertility Clinic in Cambridge for two decades, before being transported to the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel for transplantation.

The tissue was stored at Bourn Hall under the care of Senior Embryologist Martyn Blayney, who has been part of the Bourn Hall team for more than three decades and played a significant role in this remarkable chapter of Kassandra’s story.

Following transplantation of the ovarian tissue, Kassandra went on to have normal menstrual cycles again and was eventually able to undergo IVF which has resulted in the birth of her son, Landon.

The birth of her healthy baby, following the transplantation of tissue stored for so many years, has been described as a global scientific milestone, highlighting the potential of fertility preservation for young people facing cancer treatment.

Senior Embryologist Martyn Blayney was over the moon about the news, and shared the below:

“Preserving the future fertility of men undergoing treatment for cancer had been common practice since the 1980’s, but there was no equivalent for women.

In the late 1990’s, under the foresightful leadership of the CEO Dr. Mike MacNamee and Medical Director Mr. Peter Brinsden Bourn Hall became one of a handful of UK clinics to offer, without charge, ovarian preservation, a new and entirely unproven treatment.

The method was devised by our colleagues, Professors Roger Gosden and Helen Picton in Leeds. At this time, the technology was completely experimental, and we knew using these samples in the UK if at all was unlikely to be possible.

When I froze Kassandra’s samples in 2001, no way to use them had been invented, furthermore, she knew that they might not contain viable eggs, might not survive thawing, and more worryingly, might still contain cancerous cells.

Freezing just 4 tiny pieces of ovary was her only chance of ever having a genetic child of her own – it gave her hope.

In 2001 the likelihood of such tissue ever producing healthy eggs, let alone a live birth seemed infinitesimally small, it would require medical science to make significant advances and a great deal of luck.

Her belief and trust in us coupled with her unfailing determination to use her samples has finally paid off with the birth of Landon, and I am extremely proud to have played a part in making history, but very much more so of making Kassandra’s dream come true.”

Today, more than 350 babies across the globe have been born from ovarian transplantation. However, this case is particularly significant due to the sheer length of time the tissue was stored – over two decades, safely frozen in time at Bourn Hall. This proves that tissue does not necessarily degrade over a long period of time, giving the hope of more time to young cancer patients. It also highlights the importance of fertility preservation ahead of cancer treatment.

We’re proud that Bourn Hall, and our people, played a part in preserving Kassandra’s fertility all of those years ago. Today, we proudly remain committed to scientific research and innovation in a bid to improve fertility treatment outcomes in the future.

If you would like to learn more about Kassandra’s story, you can read the article on the Times website here.