Preserving fertility until the decision to have children is made is possible with the egg freezing procedure.
What is this process like? What is the appropriate age to cryopreserve your eggs? What reasons justify this decision?
At InSer we are interested in providing you with complete and updated information so that you can make the best decision for your life and your family future.
Join us in this article to answer all your questions!
Understanding the Concept of Egg Freezing
Egg freezing, cryopreservation or vitrification, is an assisted reproduction technique that allows women to safely store a certain number of eggs to be fertilized in a laboratory when they decide to become mothers.
Why Freeze Eggs?
Although each reason for adopting this decision is completely personal, the most common are:
| Family planning | Egg freezing allows women to plan a pregnancy. In this way, they keep the option open to motherhood, until the moment they decide to do so. |
| Professional career | Many women choose to grow professionally before starting a family. Freezing their eggs becomes an option to postpone motherhood without worrying about the decrease in fertility over time. |
| Medical conditions | Egg freezing is a decision that can be adopted for medical reasons: – Before undergoing medical treatments that may affect fertility, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. – Due to the presence of non-malignant diseases, whose treatments can injure ovarian germ cells. – Due to disorders or conditions associated with a decrease in the reserve of germ cells, such as the risk of ovarian failure or advanced age, etc. |
| Personal factors | Waiting for the right partner or achieving personal goals before having children is another reason to decide on egg freezing. |
| Reproductive health | Given a family history of early menopause or reproductive problems. |
Benefits of Freezing Eggs
Success Rate in Future Treatments
Egg freezing is characterized by its high success rate, thanks to the fact that technological advances allow eggs to maintain their genetic quality.
Anxiety Reduction
Egg freezing alleviates the anxiety and stress associated with decreased fertility with age, when there is a desire to conceive.
Having preserved eggs offers peace of mind and a greater sense of control over the reproductive future.
Better Quality Eggs
Opting for vitrification or cryopreservation at a young age allows you to store eggs of optimal quality.
Is there an Ideal Age to Freeze Eggs?
Although the decision is personal and depends on various individual circumstances, there are recommendations based on medical studies and scientific data that show that the quality and quantity of eggs decreases over time.
It is considered preferable to freeze eggs before the age of 37, to significantly increase the chances of success in future fertility treatments.
The Egg Freezing Process
Ovarian Stimulation:
The first step is to stimulate the ovaries with the use of drugs, which have a similar action to that of certain hormones produced by the woman.
The objective of this treatment is to achieve the development of several follicles in the ovary, inside which the eggs are found.
Then, other medications with a suppressive hormonal action are associated to avoid spontaneous ovulation before starting the extraction of the eggs.
Monitoring of the Follicles
During this period, controls are carried out to monitor the number and size of the follicles in development.
Once adequate development is verified, other medications are administered to achieve the final maturation of the eggs.
Many of the medications used are injectable and easy to manage, so even the patient herself can self-administer it, according to the recommended dose and guidelines.
Egg Retrieval
The eggs are extracted by puncturing the ovaries and aspirating the follicles, under ultrasound vision and vaginally.
Usually, this intervention is outpatient, requires anesthesia and subsequent observation for a variable period.
Egg Vitrification
The eggs obtained are prepared and classified in the laboratory, to be subjected to vitrification.
This ultra-fast freezing process prevents the formation of ice crystals and protects the cellular structure of the eggs, so that they maintain their genetic quality during storage.
Egg Storage
The frozen eggs are stored in liquid nitrogen tanks at an extremely low temperature.
Use of Eggs
When the patient decides to use her frozen eggs, they are thawed and fertilized by in vitro fertilization.
The resulting embryos are cultured in the laboratory for a few days before being transferred to the woman’s uterus, with the aim of achieving a pregnancy.
If you want to know more about the topic of egg vitrification, contact us!
