Antega South Africa · Learning Videos
Oncofertility in Africa: protecting fertility before cancer treatment
The Africa session of the Oncofertility Around the Globe virtual conference, with speakers including Dr Chris Venter (South Africa), Nonso Daniels (Nigeria) and Mohamed Khrouf (Tunisia), on preserving fertility before cancer treatment across African settings.
This is a professional conference recording, not South African government guidance and not South Africa-only guidance. It brings together speakers from several African countries, including South Africa, and runs a little over an hour at a clinical level.
Fertility preservation should never delay life-saving cancer treatment on your own decision. Where medically appropriate, fertility-preservation discussions should happen as early as possible after diagnosis and before gonadotoxic treatment begins, with the oncology team and fertility specialists coordinating timing. Never postpone chemotherapy, radiotherapy or cancer surgery without your oncology team's agreement. Services, funding and availability differ widely between African countries and between South African provinces and sectors.
Key takeaways
- Some cancer treatments can reduce or end fertility, depending on the treatment, the dose and your age.
- Raising fertility early — ideally before treatment starts — gives the widest range of options.
- Options can include sperm freezing, egg freezing and embryo freezing; ovarian or testicular tissue preservation is used in selected situations.
- Urgent referral and joint working between oncology and fertility teams matters, because the window before treatment can be short.
- Access, cost and availability vary across Africa and within South Africa; ask your treating team what is realistic locally.
Related Antega guides
- Fertility preservation before medical treatment in South Africa
- Fertility after cancer treatment in South Africa
- Sperm freezing in South Africa
- Elective egg freezing in South Africa
- Embryo freezing and vitrification explained — South Africa
- Donor conception, surrogacy and preservation in South Africa
Use these guides for general background, and check the South Africa organisations named on this page for local detail.
References
- Oncofertility Consortium — Recordings from Oncofertility Around the Globe Virtual Conference 2021 — https://oncofertility.msu.edu/conference-meeting/recordings-from-oncofertility-around-the-globe-virtual-conference-2021/
- Conference recording — https://player.vimeo.com/video/520282898
- CANSA — Preserving hope: fertility discussions for female cancer patients — https://cansa.org.za/preserving-hope-fertility-discussions-for-female-cancer-patients/
- South African research on fertility-preservation experiences — https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00812463231191437
- Vitalab — https://vitalab.com/
This video was produced by Oncofertility Consortium — Africa session, featuring South African fertility specialist Dr Chris Venter and is international guidance rather than South Africa guidance and is shared for education only. It is not medical advice and does not replace guidance from your own doctor or fertility clinic. Naming an organisation does not imply a partnership with Antega.