After Tumor Diagnosis, Lurie Children’s Provides ‘Only Opportunity to Preserve’ Georgie’s Fertility

Rachel Clark and Eric Anderson never thought they would have to make decisions about their daughter’s future fertility when she was only four years old, but their circumstances made it necessary. 
 
Their daughter Georgianna, better known as “Georgie,” now 8, was diagnosed with a Sertoli-Leydig tumor that had grown on her right ovary to the size of an avocado. Georgie had four inpatient chemotherapy treatments at another hospital, and her ovary needed to be removed. As her course of therapy unfolded, her curious parents, both lawyers, had questions about how losing an ovary could impact Georgie’s growth and development, including puberty and her ability to have biological children one day. 
 
They were referred to the Fertility & Hormone Preservation & Restoration Program (FHPR) at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, one of the few premier programs of its kind in the nation.  
 
Rachel recalled, “It was just really devastating to be in a position to have to make decisions like that for our four-year-old. The cancer treatment had to be done, but it was very possible that it would take away her ability to have a biological child one day — way before she was even ready to consider this or knows if that’s something she would want later in life.” 

A Quick Decision Leaves Options Open 

FHPR was born from the realization that babies, children and adolescents who undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatments have few options to preserve future fertility. Their pubertal development may also be at risk. 
 
To preserve fertility, FHPR offers girls the opportunity to have ovarian tissue removed and preserved through a process called cryopreservation. Living tissues and cells are stored in very low temperatures for preservation and potential use later, often well into the future. 
 
In 2020, FHPR opened a gonadal tissue processing suite, one of the only pediatric-specific processing suites in the U.S., for pediatric-specific processing and freezing of tissues. FHPR also accepts gonadal tissues from other hospitals for cryopreservation, even if patients cannot come to Chicago.

The family felt much better informed after what they called “all their nerdy questions” were answered at a virtual appointment by FHPR’s Medical Director, Dr. Erin Rowell, a pediatric surgeon and attending physician in Lurie Children’s Division of Pediatric Surgery. “We also realized that this was our only opportunity to preserve our daughter’s ovarian tissue — we would not get another shot,” Rachel said. Her parents knew that if Georgie needed additional treatment in the future, her left ovary might not function correctly. 

Dr. Rowell performed Georgie’s surgery on an outpatient basis, removing the right ovary (the size of an adult thumbnail), and processing it for cryopreservation. 
 
Rachel says she is grateful for the collaboration between hospitals, which brought them to Lurie Children’s, and the support of all kinds her busy family of eight has received from friends and family during Georgie’s treatment and recovery. 

An Evolving Pediatric Specialty

While reproductive medicine is well established for adults, it has historically been underused in pediatrics. To help close that gap, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago launched its Fertility & Hormone Preservation & Restoration Program (FHPR) in 2011. 
 
Dr. Erin Rowell and Dr. Monica Laronda are leading efforts to set new standards for pediatric fertility care, developing innovative techniques to remove, preserve and transplant ovarian tissue. Their research focuses on how ovaries function before puberty to improve future hormone function and egg production for patients whose tissue is preserved in childhood. 
 
Rachel and Eric chose to participate in this research, hoping their contribution could help other families. “I work for a union — we are collectivists — we feel that this is something small that we could do not only to help Georgie, but to help someone else,” Rachel said. 
 
Today, the first adults who preserved ovarian tissue as children are starting to have pregnancies. Rachel and Eric find reassurance in these advances and know Georgie will have options when she’s ready to make her own decisions. 
 
Now in second grade, Georgie plays soccer, participates in Scouts and Irish dance, and loves spending time with her five sisters, who with their parents supported her through treatment. 
 
“We are really glad we did this,” Rachel said. “We would make the choice again in a heartbeat.” 

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