The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has warned women that two experimental fertility procedures currently being offered remain unproven.
The group say the preservation of a woman's eggs by freezing, and testing an embryo for genetic flaws by sampling a single cell, are both unproven and they suggest that any women seeking egg-freezing services should first receive comprehensive counseling.
They say even though some studies have shown that healthy babies have been born using frozen eggs or ovarian tissue, and some clinics advertise such procedures, they are far from routine.
Dr. Marc Fritz, chair of the ASRM Practice Committee says it is vital that patients completely understand any new technology and the likelihood of a successful outcome.
The ASRM says there have been some reports of women having their eggs, or in some cases ovarian tissue, frozen ahead of cancer treatment or other procedures that may destroy fertility, but at present data on the procedures is too limited for such procedures to be considered an established medical treatment.
The ASRM says there are no numbers available on how many women have tried the technique and human eggs are more fragile than human embryos, which are now commonly frozen for years before use.
The ASRM includes fertility doctors, and they also say that the growing practice of preimplantation genetic testing remains experimental.
Such testing is carried out on embryos created in lab dishes via in vitro fertilization or IVF; it involves the removal of one or more cells in order to check for genetic problems before the embryo is implanted in the mother's womb.