Egg Freezing

Initial Issues

Egg freezing has proven to be an invaluable advancement in infertility treatment technology. The process of freezing the eggs baffled reproductive endocrinologists for more than 30 years after the development of the IVF treatment process. The main problem was ice crystal formation, which damaged the frozen eggs.

Breakthrough

The solution is in a process known as vitrification, which strengthens the water in the egg, without letting the disruptive ice crystals form. This results in significantly improved pregnancy rates with acceptable freezing and thawing of the eggs. The intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique enables better fertilization, further enhancing successful pregnancy rates. And assisted hatching is another technique where a tiny hole is created in the embryo’s “shell,” which also helps with successful fertilization.

Perfect for Women Who:

Are Cancer Patients

• Egg freezing is especially valuable for maintaining fertility in women who have to go through chemotherapy since this treatment damages the eggs. The egg freezing involves stimulation, similar to that in the IVF process. Some women require more than a single stimulation. The stimulation takes between 4 and 6 weeks, before egg retrieval. After this time period, women requiring cancer treatment can resume their chemotherapy. For a woman who has been diagnosed with cancer (and is considering egg freezing), the process should be started as soon as possible so there is sufficient time for collecting and freezing the eggs.

Want to Focus on Their Career or Live a Certain Lifestyle

• Women also choose egg freezing if they need to postpone bearing any children for personal or professional reasons. Perhaps they want to focus on their careers, or believe that having children will not suit their lifestyle for most of their fertile years. In such cases they can store the frozen eggs while they are still fertile, considering the fact that fertility naturally declines with age.

The main beneficiaries of egg freezing are women less than 38 years old, with about a 50% pregnancy rate. For older women, the results cannot be known or predicted with certainty. For the best treatment possible, keeping the statistics in mind, we don’t encourage our patients who are over 42 years old to opt for egg freezing.

Call Us Today

We will be glad to discuss your situation and fertility options at length and help you discover the most suitable solution for getting pregnant. Set up an appointment today by calling 520-326-0001