The Pedi-LIFE (Pediatric Long-term Impacts on Fertility Evaluation) program at UCSF was initiated by Dr. James Smith and is now led by Dr. Yi Li. The program focuses on preserving and understanding fertility potential in pediatric and adolescent patients, particularly those at risk of future infertility due to medical treatments or congenital conditions.
A central offering of the program is the experimental cryopreservation of testicular tissue in prepubertal boys who undergo gonadotoxic therapies, such as chemotherapy, radiation, or stem cell transplants. Since these young patients are not yet able to produce sperm for traditional semen cryopreservation, a testicular biopsy is performed to collect and store tissue containing spermatogonial stem cells. The long-term goal is to develop fertility restoration techniques, such as in vitro maturation or tissue grafting, that can one day enable these patients to have biological children.
In addition to tissue preservation, the Pedi-LIFE team is actively conducting clinical research to better understand how early-life urologic conditions and surgeries affect long-term reproductive health. One current study investigates semen parameters and fertility outcomes in adult men who underwent orchiopexy (surgical correction of undescended testicles) during childhood. We are currently recruiting participants who had this surgery in the past to contribute to this important research.
We are investigating long term fertility outcomes and semen analysis parameters of adults who had surgery in childhood for undescended testicles. We are currently recruiting patients who have had this surgery in the past.
Dr. Baskin is the former division chief of pediatric urology at UCSF. He is a prolific researcher and has been a longtime mentor to Dr. Li.
Dr. Cao has been a lab technician and lab manager in the urology department at UCSF for over 20 years. She is an expert in xenografting techniques and has contributed to multiple projects and publications in the lab.
Pablo is a fourth-year medical student at UCSF who is interested in urology and infertility. He is spending his year working on our project investigating fertility outcomes in patients who have had orchiopexy surgery in the past.
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Status: Active, Enrolling
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A study on the effects of orchiopexy for the management of cryptorchidism, or undescended testicles on long-term fertility outcomes.
Description
Undescended testicles are a common pediatric urologic condition for which orchiopexy is recommended between 6 and 18 months of age. Delayed treatment can be associated with a higher risk of infertility. However, the impact of this procedure on long-term fertility outcomes, including reproductive success, semen quality, and epigenetics, remains understudied. This study aims to investigate perioperative factors, such as age at the time of surgery and testicular location, in relation to fertility outcomes.
The Li Lab is partnering with certified laboratories, Fellow and PathFertility, to assess semen quality and epigenetic data through mail-in semen kits. These new technologies allow for a deeper understanding of the relationship between undescended testicles and fertility pathophysiology. Additionally, enabling patients to collect samples in the comfort of their homes helps reduce the stress and logistical challenges of on-site fertility testing, thus expanding access to high-quality and accurate fertility testing to a broader population.
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