Dr. Zhang Explains the Benefits of Egg Freezing in Parenting Magazine
No longer do women have to be cornered into motherhood by their biological clock. You can put your maternal instinct on hold by taking advantage of egg freezing – also known as oocyte cryopreservation – in conjunction with IVF. Today’s smart women are planning for the future when it comes to her aging eggs. The younger your eggs are when trying to conceive, the better chance you will have of getting pregnant. – Dr. John Zhang as quoted in Parenting. If you know that one day you would like to become a mother, but feel that now is just not the time, we recommend freezing your eggs.
Egg Freezing Trend
When you are ready for motherhood, it only takes one good egg and a healthy sperm! More and more women are postponing motherhood past their prime childbearing years. You can join the force of women who are growing more confident in their ability to give birth to a biological child in the future – without fear of maternal aging. Read an amazing story in Harper’s Bazaar that features how our Division of Fertility Preservation has played a major role in informing women of their future family planning options.
Aging and the Quality of Eggs
The natural aging process has a dramatic effect on the quality of a woman’s eggs. A woman in her prime reproductive years (early 20s and early 30s) has the option of freezing her eggs to preserve her future fertility into her advanced reproductive years (mid-30s and early 40s + beyond):
- Today’s modern women who are focused on their education and career opportunities
- Women whose circumstances in life are not presently conducive to rearing children
- Women who have not be able to find their life partner
- Women who are facing cancer treatment – chemo or radiation – that could damage the quality of their eggs and/or destroy their ovarian function by sending them into premature menopause
- Women who are undergoing IVF and are likely to produce excessive eggs, but have ethical or religious concerns over freezing embryos
Egg Freezing Process
Egg freezing is accomplished through a fresh IVF cycle, stopping short of fertilization with sperm in vitro.
- A woman’s ovaries are stimulated by using fertility drugs to produce several egg follicles
- The eggs are surgically retrieved from the woman’s ovaries and sent to the lab for cryopreservation preparation
- The preparation and freezing of the eggs for preservation is performed through a process known as vitrification
- The rapid-freezing technique of vitrification makes it possible to freeze eggs quickly so that damaging ice crystals do not form between cells
Customized IVF Treatment
Because every patient’s personal, medical, and financial needs are different, we offer customized IVF treatment.
Our experience designing customized protocols provide a variety of successful IVF treatment protocols for you to choose from. We offer the highest quality care timed precisely around your body’s optimal state of performance.
Future Pregnancy
When she is ready to start building her family, the egg freezing process continues.
- The frozen eggs are thawed and fertilized in vitro by injecting a sperm cell into a single egg – Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
- The resulting embryos are cultured in vitro for up to 5 days (blastocyst stage)
- A predetermined number of quality embryos are transferred into the woman’s uterus for implantation into her uterine lining to achieve pregnancy
Genetic Testing and Gender Selection
Many of our patients opt to have their embryos undergo genetic testing prior to transfer.
- PGD Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
- PGS/NGS Preimplantation Genetic Screening and Next Generation Sequencing
- Gender Selection
Resulting embryos are cultured to a blastocyst stage (5 days) and then are re-evaluated by our embryologists to ensure good health. PGS/NGS identifies chromosomal abnormalities and identifies the gender of each embryo.
High Tech IVF Laboratory
Our goal is to maximize every patient’s chances of having a successful pregnancy. At New Hope Fertility Center, we offer the latest:
- IVF technology
- IVF ingenuity
- IVF customization
Our IVF laboratory is comprised of a powerful air filtration system to facilitate the best conditions for success of procedures and research. We have one of the largest and most powerful air filtration systems in the world. This quality air filtration system provides optimal clean air pressure in every laboratory process.
World Renowned Egg Freezing Expertise
Pregnancy success rates using a woman’s egg that has been cryopreserved are comparable to success rates using a fresh egg. Continually increasing IVF Pregnancy Success Rates requires all-encompassing fertility care.
It is important to work with a fertility specialist having the research and clinical experience required to design a customized egg freezing plan meeting your personal and medical needs. To schedule your initial consultation with Dr. John Zhang at New Hope Fertility Center – call 917.525.5496.
