Children & Young Adults

Each year in Ireland around 200 children are diagnosed with cancer. Treatments for cancer can cause lifelong damage to fertility, seriously impacting their future chances of ever starting a family of their own.

A partnership between the Irish Cancer Society and Merrion Fertility Clinic aims to ensure that, where possible, lifesaving treatment for children does not come at the cost of their future dreams of parenthood.

Through this project, we are developing supports and services to address a current significant gap in care and improve the long-term quality of life for children with cancer in Ireland.

The Childhood Cancer Fertility Project is the first of its kind in Ireland, providing funded fertility services since 2020 for young cancer patients and survivors. The result of a €730,000 investment from the Irish Cancer Society as part of its commitment to improving the lives of cancer survivors, the Childhood Cancer Fertility Project brings together top international expertise to deliver a world-class service that caters for a basic yet essential need among our cancer community.

More than 4 in 5 children now survive their cancer diagnosis. For survivors, the ability to start a family of their own down the road is incredibly important. Ireland currently lags behind the U.K. and other European countries in fertility services for children, adolescents and young adults who go through cancer, despite this increasing need.

The Childhood Cancer Fertility Project looks at life beyond treatment for these groups, ensuring that where possible, survivors are given the opportunity of having their own family in future.

The project offers supports and services to the following groups:

• Adolescents and young adults (under the age of 18) are offered access to an enhanced fertility preservation service for cancer patients at Merrion Fertility Clinic
• Female survivors of childhood cancers (aged under 27 years) are invited to have their fertility needs assessed and referred for further investigation or fertility preservation if medically indicated.

Since its introduction, the Childhood Cancer Fertility Project has assisted hundreds of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients and survivors entirely free of cost, and has produced several notable improvements for these groups that will lay the foundation for a new national AYA fertility preservation programme:

• A structured fertility health service for adolescent and young adult cancer patients headed by Merrion Fertility Clinic that makes it possible for patients to be routinely referred for the assistance they need in a timely manner
• Access to fertility testing and tailored counselling to help young patients and their families understand and explore the options that are available to them
• Addressed an identified gap in knowledge and resources for healthcare professionals, by empowering them to inform their patients about their fertility options and refer them to an appropriate fertility service.

The Childhood Cancer Fertility Project is supported by the National Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Fertility Preservation Consortium comprising the Irish Cancer Society, Merrion Fertility Clinic, the National Maternity Hospital, and Children’s Health Ireland.

Irish Cancer Society Fertility Project | Irish Cancer