How Egg Freezing is Trending in 2017
Today’s woman can postpone motherhood past her prime childbearing years through the medical marvel of egg freezing – oocyte cryopreservation – via IVF. Pregnancy success rates using a woman’s egg that has been cryopreserved are comparable to success rates of a fresh egg. Egg freezing is a phenomenal technology available for today’s women to preserve their fertility for tomorrow. These women want to ensure they have the ability to be biologically connected to their children in the future.
Egg Freezing Trends in 2017
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 in Conjunction with IVF
Egg freezing is accomplished through a fresh IVF cycle, stopping short of egg fertilization in vitro.
- Stimulation of a woman’s ovaries using fertility drugs to produce several egg follicles during one fresh IVF cycle
- Harvesting eggs from the woman’s ovaries through surgical retrieval
- Preparation and freezing of the eggs for preservation through a process known as vitrification
- The rapid-freezing technique of vitrification makes it possible to freeze eggs quickly so that ice crystals do not form between cells
Future Fertility Through Egg Freezing
When the woman is ready to start building her family, the egg freezing process continues.
- Her eggs are thawed and fertilized in vitro by injecting a single 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 the uterine lining to achieve pregnancy
World Renowned Egg Freezing Specialists
It is important to work with a fertility care team having the experience required to design a customized egg freezing treatment plan meeting your personal needs. To schedule your initial consultation with one of the world renowned fertility specialists at New Hope Fertility NYC, click the icon below – or – call 917.525.5496.
