Perhaps you have heard about the concept of egg, or “oocyte”, freezing and have wondered if it’s right for you. Maybe you need more information about this treatment option and how it might benefit you or you and your spouse/partner.
Though egg freezing is not an overly complicated process, it is something about which you should understand all of the facts and ramifications before making a decision. To get you started, we have provided some answers below to our most commonly asked questions about it, in hopes that we can offer enough information to either pique your interest or even decide it might actually be the right option for you to pursue at this time.
Alternatively referred to in medical terms as oocyte cryopreservation, egg freezing is a process in which eggs are retrieved from a woman’s ovaries, subsequently frozen (unfertilized), and then stored for later use as may be needed. In essence, this process preserves and prolongs reproductive potential in women of childbearing age. In other words, it allows a woman to get pregnant in the future with her own biological eggs, even if at that time viable eggs are not present in her body for one reason or another.
A frozen egg can be safely thawed, combined with sperm in a laboratory, and then implanted in the uterus using in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques. As a result, a successful pregnancy can occur.
Egg freezing is not a new phenomenon. It was first performed successfully nearly 40 years ago in 1986. Since that time, methods of freezing the eggs have improved and more and more eggs are successfully thawed so that they are still viable. Furthermore, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine no longer considers egg freezing an experimental procedure, which is a true testament to its ever-growing success rate and applicability.
You might consider cryopreservation of your eggs for any number of reasons.
Before egg freezing is even considered, some screening tests will need to be done to assess whether you are a good candidate for this procedure. This will likely begin with some simple tests, such as infectious disease screening to check for diseases like HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B or C.
Ovarian reserve testing, which checks the quantity and quality of your eggs, will be performed as well. This checks the concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH), and Estradiol in your blood and is done on days three to four of your menstrual cycle. Results help predict how your ovaries will respond to fertility medications, as well as which dosages and combinations will be needed in your individual case to optimally maximize your egg yield.
In addition, an ultrasound of the ovaries will be performed to achieve a more complete picture of your ovarian reserve status.
Once it has been determined that you are a good candidate for egg freezing, you will begin taking hormonal fertility medications to stimulate egg recruitment and maturation, much as you would for a round of in vitro fertilization. This will induce multiple eggs to mature rather than the single egg that normally develops each month during ovulation. You will also be monitored to measure your response to the medications. This monitoring will include blood tests to measure certain hormones as well as vaginal ultrasounds. Finally, when it is determined that the eggs are ready for retrieval, you will be given an injection of either a human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) derivative, or a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (lupron) to achieve final egg maturation.
The egg retrieval procedure is then done under sedation anesthesia, through transvaginal ultrasound aspiration, with the goal of aspirating as many eggs as are available. They are then cooled to subzero temperatures and frozen (cryopreserved) via a rapid vitrification technique to be stored for future use.
When you have determined that you are ready to use your frozen eggs, whether it may be two years from now or ten years from now, they will be thawed and fertilized in the embryology laboratory. A procedure known as Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection or ICSI is performed, which involves injecting a single healthy sperm directly into the thawed, mature egg. This procedure is required in cases of frozen eggs as it has been shown to be the most successful for fertilization potential.
In general, your chances of becoming pregnant after implanting a thawed, fertilized egg ranges from about 30 to 60 percent. Success often depends on your age at the time of egg retrieval, not the time of implantation. The older you are at the time of the freezing, the less viable your eggs are and thus the less likely you may ultimately be to achieve pregnancy. This is why it is important to freeze your eggs as soon as you recognize that it might be the right option for you.
Before you choose to freeze your eggs, it is important to recognize that as with all such measures, egg freezing does carry certain, albeit rare, risks, both physical and emotional.
As with any form of fertility therapy, a lot of what is and what is not covered will depend on your health insurance. More and more, companies are offering insurance policies that provide some, if not full, coverage for fertility procedures. In addition, there are plans that will cover the initial assessment but perhaps not the procedure itself. It is always in your best interest to call your healthcare insurance provider for the exact details of your individual policy before you begin the process.
We hope this answered some of your questions about the exciting and highly rewarding therapeutic option of egg freezing. As one physician who underwent this treatment a few years ago herself so eloquently stated, “It’s an insurance policy… I spent all this money on my education…my reproductive future is relatively inexpensive”. At Advanced Reproductive Medicine, we are eager to help you better understand this procedure and how it can benefit you now and in the future. For more information or schedule a consultation, call us at 732-339-9300.
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