Egg freezing is a method of storing a woman’s unfertilized eggs to allow her to try to conceive at a later date, when natural conception would be unlikely. To obtain eggs for freezing, a woman would usually have hormonal stimulation for 10 – 12 days. It may be seen as a way of preserving the possibility of fertility for women who are not in a position to become pregnant straight away, or whose fertility is at risk for medical reasons such as cancer treatment.
Frozen eggs may be stored for many years without significant deterioration. When the woman is ready to use her eggs, they are warmed, and then fertilized with sperm. The aim is for the fertilized egg to develop into an embryo, which can then be transferred to the woman’s uterus giving a chance of pregnancy.
When considering embryo freezing it is important to note that where embryos are created, both partners have the right to veto future use of the embryos. The serious consequences of this, should your relationship break down, for either the woman or man undergoing fertility preservation, would be that you could lose access to your own reproductive material.
If you have a partner you may choose to freeze embryos for future fertility treatment. Embryo freezing involves undergoing an IVF cycle where your ovaries are stimulated with hormone injections, prior to the eggs being retrieved in a short surgical procedure, then fertilised with sperm in a laboratory and the resulting embryos frozen and stored. Frozen embryos can be stored for many years.
When considering embryo freezing it is important to note that where embryos are created, both partners have the right to veto future use of the embryos. The serious consequences of this, should your relationship break down, for either the woman or man undergoing fertility preservation, would be that you could lose access to your own reproductive material.
Many women in the reproductive-age women are diagnosed with cancer each year all over the world. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are toxic for oocytes, leaving few if any, viable eggs. Egg freezing offers women with cancer the chance to preserve their eggs so that they can have children in the future.
Oocyte cryopreservation is an option for individuals undergoing IVF who object, either for religious or ethical reasons, freezing embryos. They have an option to fertilize only as many eggs as will be utilized in the IVF process and then freeze any remaining unfertilized eggs. Bu this no excess embryos are created, ruling out the possibility of damage of unused frozen embryos, which accordingly few individuals may object to due to certain obvious reasons of ethical or religious in nature.
Egg freezing is also an option for women who, for the purpose of education, finances, career or other reasons, desire to postpone childbearing. Additionally, women with a family history of early menopause have an interest in fertility preservation can use egg freezing. With egg freezing, they will have a frozen store of eggs, which can be used in future in the likelihood that their eggs are depleted at an early age.
The egg retrieval process for oocyte cryopreservation is the same as that for in vitro fertilization. This includes two weeks of hormone injections that stimulate ovaries to ripen multiple eggs. When the eggs are mature, final maturation induction is performed, by using human chorionic gonadotrophin (beta HCG)
The eggs are subsequently removed from the body by trans-vaginal oocyte retrieval. The procedure is usually conducted under general Anaesthesia. In the eggs retrieved few are used for IVF Process if required and other unused eggs are immediately frozen.
Eggs (oocytes) are frozen using a process called vitrification. In vitrification, freeing is achieved much faster but requires higher concentrations of cryo-protectants to be added. The result of vitrification is a solid glass-like cell, free of ice crystals. Vitrification is associated with higher survival rates and better development compared to slow-cooling when applied to oocytes in metaphase II (MII).
When you are ready for pregnancy and wish to use the eggs for fertilization then the Embryologist will thaw the eggs and fertilize with the sperm from the male partner and the embryos will be grown in an incubator for 5 days and transferred at Blastocyst stage
