Oocyte cryopreservation, also known as egg freezing, is a technique used to preserve a woman's ability to reproduce by extracting, freezing, and storing her eggs (oocytes). Ovarian eggs that haven't been fertilized are saved and frozen for later use. A thawed frozen egg is combined with sperm in a laboratory before being implanted in a uterus (IVF). Oocyte cryopreservation has advanced significantly during the last few years, with an overall improvement in the survival rate of eggs.
The doctor will help you understand how egg freezing works, the potential hazards, and whether the fertility preservation technique is good for you based on your requirements and reproductive history.
Ovum Cryopreservation: Why and When to do it?
Egg freezing may be a possibility if you're not ready to get pregnant right now but want to make sure you can get pregnant in the future.
Since the eggs are not fertilized until they are frozen, egg freezing does not require sperm, unlike fertilized egg freezing (embryo cryopreservation). But just as with embryo freezing, you'll need fertility medications to make you ovulate more frequently so that more eggs will mature for retrieval.
Ovum Cryopreservation might be the best option if:
Frozen eggs can be used to try to conceive using sperm from a spouse or a sperm donor. A third party's uterus may also be used to bear the embryo and the child (gestational carrier).
How is Ovum Cryopreservation Carried Out?
Before beginning the egg-freezing procedure, you'll likely undergo a few blood screening tests, including:
Ovarian reserve testing: On day three of your menstrual cycle, your doctor can evaluate the concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol in your blood to estimate the number and quality of your eggs. Results will aid in predicting how your ovaries will respond to fertility medication. Another blood test and an ovarian ultrasound may be performed to provide a clearer picture of ovarian function.
Infectious Disease: You will have an infectious disease screening to check for conditions including HIV and hepatitis B and C.
Other steps of Ovum Cryopreservation include:
1. Ovarian Stimulation
You will take synthetic hormones to encourage your ovaries to create many eggs rather than the single egg that ordinarily matures monthly. medications that might be needed include:
Medications for ovarian stimulation: Injections of menotropin (Menopur) or follitropin alfa or beta (Follistim AQ, Gonal-f) are both options.
Medications to prevent premature ovulation: Injectable gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists like leuprolide acetate (Lupron) or gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists like cetrorelix may be administered by your doctor to avoid early ovulation (Cetrotide).
Your therapy will be monitored by your doctor. You will get blood tests to evaluate your reaction to ovarian-stimulation medicines. Estrogen levels normally increase as follicles grow, whereas progesterone levels typically remain low until after ovulation.
Follow-up visits sometimes involve a vaginal ultrasound, a procedure that employs sound waves to create an image of the inside of your ovaries, in order to monitor the growth of fluid-filled sacs where eggs mature (follicles).
When the follicles are prepared for egg extraction, often after 10 to 14 days, an injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (Pregnyl, Ovidrel) or another medication may help the eggs develop.
2. Egg Retrieval
Sedation is used during egg retrieval, which is often done in a clinic. An ultrasound probe is put into your vagina during transvaginal ultrasound aspiration to find the follicles. Then a follicle is punctured with a needle via the vagina. Using a suction tool linked to the needle, the egg is removed from the follicle. Studies show that the more eggs collected—up to 15 every cycle—the better the likelihood of conception, even when several eggs may be eliminated.
Cramping may occur following egg removal. Your ovaries may continue to swell for weeks, which might create sensations of fullness or pain.
3. Freezing
Shortly after being retrieved, your unfertilized eggs are chilled to below-freezing temperatures to preserve them for future use. It is somewhat more difficult to freeze and produce a healthy pregnancy when an unfertilized egg develops than when a fertilized egg does (embryo).
Vitrification, or egg freezing, is the most used technique. High doses of chemicals known as cryoprotectants—substances that aid in preventing the development of ice crystals during freezing—are employed with fast cooling.
You can normally resume everyday activities a week after the treatment, depending on the circumstances. Avoid unprotected sexual contact to prevent unintended pregnancy.
Advantages of Ovum Cryopreservation
Your biological clock is stopped by egg freezing:
An average woman has three million eggs in her ovaries when she is born. When some of those eggs reach a specific stage of development, they stop growing and eventually die. Age causes eggs to start to get worse. A female's ovaries have the most eggs when she is in her early 20s, which is best for reproduction. Egg freezing collects eggs from your ovaries for long-term cryopreservation in a sterile laboratory setting, preserving your capacity to have biological children later.
Egg quality is preserved by freezing:
You should not just consider your declining egg count as you become older. Your eggs' quality is more likely to deteriorate with time. It's a great approach to maintain your eggs' dignity and make sure you have healthy eggs accessible if you want to get pregnant in your late thirties or early forties.
You have control when you freeze eggs:
Egg freezing allows you to focus on your personal goals in your early adult years without having to constantly worry about your biological clock. You won't be afraid of your potential fertility anymore, and you'll feel motivated.
The likelihood of miscarriage, if you utilize frozen eggs to conceive will mostly depend on your age at the time the eggs were frozen. Because their eggs are older, elderly women have greater miscarriage rates.
Visit or contact Nepal IVF today to learn more about ovum cryopreservation and other fertility treatment method from top fertility experts.
