Egg Freezing- Fertility Preservation

Egg freezing, also known as mature oocyte cryopreservation, is a method used to save women's ability to get pregnant in the future.

Eggs harvested from your ovaries are frozen unfertilized and stored for later use. A frozen egg can be thawed, combined with sperm in a lab and implanted in your uterus (in vitro fertilization)IVF.

Your doctor can help you understand how egg freezing works, the potential risks and whether this method of fertility preservation is right for you based on your needs and reproductive history.

Why It's Done?

Egg freezing might be an option if you're not ready to become pregnant now but want to try to make sure you can get pregnant later.

Unlike with fertilized egg freezing (embryo cryopreservation), egg freezing doesn't require sperm because the eggs aren't fertilized before they're frozen. Just as with embryo freezing, however, you'll need to use fertility drugs to make you ovulate so that you'll produce multiple eggs for retrieval.

You might consider egg freezing if:

- You have a condition or circumstance that can affect your fertility. These might include sickle cell anemia, autoimmune diseases such as lupus, and gender diversity, such as being transgender.

- You need treatment for cancer or another illness that can affect your ability to get pregnant. Certain medical treatments — such as radiation or chemotherapy — can harm your fertility. Egg freezing before treatment might enable you to have biological children later.

- You're undergoing in vitro fertilization. When undergoing in vitro fertilization, some people prefer egg freezing to embryo freezing for religious or ethical reasons.

- You wish to preserve younger eggs now for future use. Freezing eggs at a younger age might help you get pregnant when you're ready.

You can use your frozen eggs to try to conceive a child with sperm from a partner or a sperm donor. A donor can be known or anonymous. The embryo can also be implanted in the uterus of another person to carry the pregnancy (gestational carrier).

There are several reasons why delaying pregnancy may be the best option for you. You may want to freeze your eggs if you are a woman who:

- would like to preserve your eggs when they are at their highest quality

- is single or married, with or without a partner and not ready to have children at this time

- will be receiving cancer treatment with radiation or chemotherapy

- needs to have her ovaries removed

- has a genetic history of early menopause, endometriosis or premature ovarian failure

Egg preservation is a good option for the woman who wants to be in charge of her fertility and determine for herself when it is a good time to start a family.

HOW IT WORKS?

The egg preservation procedure requires the patient to take daily injections for 8-10 days. You will be monitored in our center every 2-3 days. When your eggs are ready for retrieval, they are collected and prepared for freezing. We use the most advanced vitrification technique, and the eggs are flash-frozen and stored right here at Chawla Fertility. When you are ready, you may return to our office to use your eggs when and how you choose.

EGG FREEZING WITH IN VITRO MATURATION (IVM)

Chawla Nursing Home and Maternity Hospital is the only fertility center in the United States to use our unique IVM technologies as part of the egg freezing process. Patients who choose to use less medication and have fewer monitoring visits choose this procedure. In contrast to the 8-10 days of high dose hormonal medications, with IVM a lower dose is used for 2-3 days, after which the eggs are retrieved. The immature eggs go through the maturation process in the laboratory. Those eggs that achieve maturity are frozen in a similar manner as those retrieved in a traditional egg freezing cycle.

IVM is for the woman who does not want to take large amounts of hormones or who has been diagnosed with hormone-sensitive cancer, such as breast cancer. It is also a good option for women who have been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS) or have a high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

You can take control of your fertility options with Chawla Nursing Home’s egg freezing or egg freezing with IVM. Learn more about the process by schedule a consultation appointment with us.