Oocyte Freezing for Future Fertility
Preservation of oocytes or eggs was available in since 1950. Almost it took 50 years for egg freezing to become readily available options for couples. In 1986, the first successful pregnancy was reported from a thawed human egg. May early studies on oocyte freezing came that prevents IVF clinics from inseminating more than three eggs and forced physicians to freeze the rest of the eggs fertilized.
It is a novel technology in which a woman's eggs are extracted and then frozen or stored for future fertility.
As more couples facing the issues of infertility or women are waiting longer to have children, the oocyte or egg freezing is becoming more relevant, especially for women facing the real challenges of having successful and healthy pregnancy.
Scientifically, fertility is proven to be age dependent and since the woman's eggs determine her fertility, the eggs of 30 year old woman are much more likely to have successful pregnancy than those of 40 years old.
As per the experts, if you are not ready to have baby at an early reproductive age, you can freeze your eggs at this stage and can help to preserve your fertility. Also maximizes the chances of future conception if any fertility issue should be experienced.
Who should consider Oocyte Freezing?
The main indication to consider egg freezing is either fertility extension or fertility preservation. Fertility extension refers to the reproductive preservation in women desiring to delay pregnancy due to career or social reason or personal circumstances. On the other side, fertility preservation is a medical process that mainly aims to preserve reproductive potential in woman endangered by fertility loss due to disease or its treatment including cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation or pelvic radiation. Also women at risk of premature menopause due to genetic disease, surgery involving the ovaries and family history, often consider oocyte freezing.
In addition, with the increasing risk of miscarriages and certain abnormalities such as Down's syndrome, women may choose to freeze their eggs for later fertility treatment.
Today with the help of the rapid advances which have taken place in the Cryobiology science and its related field, the chances of successful freezing your eggs are dramatically improved.
Egg Freezing Process
Process starts with ovarian stimulation using Gonadotropins (fertility medication). It requires about two weeks to accomplished, when eggs are ready to retrieve, through a surgical process, a needle is passed through the vagina and eggs are obtained using suction. Only mature eggs are frozen using either slow or rapid freezing (Vitrification) methods.
In slow freezing process, the egg must be dehydrated prior to freezing using low concentration of Cryoprotectants that replace the water within the cells and restrict the formation of ice crystals. In this eggs are slowly frozen through a programmable freezer.
However the rapid freezing method (Vitrification) which is much faster and requires higher concentrations of cryoprotectants to be added is associated with better development and higher survival rates as compared to slow cooling when applied to oocytes.
It is a novel technology in which a woman's eggs are extracted and then frozen or stored for future fertility.
As more couples facing the issues of infertility or women are waiting longer to have children, the oocyte or egg freezing is becoming more relevant, especially for women facing the real challenges of having successful and healthy pregnancy.
Scientifically, fertility is proven to be age dependent and since the woman's eggs determine her fertility, the eggs of 30 year old woman are much more likely to have successful pregnancy than those of 40 years old.
As per the experts, if you are not ready to have baby at an early reproductive age, you can freeze your eggs at this stage and can help to preserve your fertility. Also maximizes the chances of future conception if any fertility issue should be experienced.
Who should consider Oocyte Freezing?
The main indication to consider egg freezing is either fertility extension or fertility preservation. Fertility extension refers to the reproductive preservation in women desiring to delay pregnancy due to career or social reason or personal circumstances. On the other side, fertility preservation is a medical process that mainly aims to preserve reproductive potential in woman endangered by fertility loss due to disease or its treatment including cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation or pelvic radiation. Also women at risk of premature menopause due to genetic disease, surgery involving the ovaries and family history, often consider oocyte freezing.
In addition, with the increasing risk of miscarriages and certain abnormalities such as Down's syndrome, women may choose to freeze their eggs for later fertility treatment.
Today with the help of the rapid advances which have taken place in the Cryobiology science and its related field, the chances of successful freezing your eggs are dramatically improved.
Egg Freezing Process
Process starts with ovarian stimulation using Gonadotropins (fertility medication). It requires about two weeks to accomplished, when eggs are ready to retrieve, through a surgical process, a needle is passed through the vagina and eggs are obtained using suction. Only mature eggs are frozen using either slow or rapid freezing (Vitrification) methods.
In slow freezing process, the egg must be dehydrated prior to freezing using low concentration of Cryoprotectants that replace the water within the cells and restrict the formation of ice crystals. In this eggs are slowly frozen through a programmable freezer.
However the rapid freezing method (Vitrification) which is much faster and requires higher concentrations of cryoprotectants to be added is associated with better development and higher survival rates as compared to slow cooling when applied to oocytes.
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