Oocyte Cryopreservation Offers Option For Delayed Pregnancy

Most women today are deciding to put-off having a child. Among the reasons for this include women that are are focused on a career, women who have are returned to school/college, or because they simply haven’t met the right person with which to start a family. For women who fit into this group, egg freezing, also referred to as oocyte cryopreservation, is a revolutionary technology and one that allows women the ability to make life choices.

Another reason egg freezing is such a revolutionary technology, is the fact that oocyte cryopreservation allows for women diagnosed with cancer to undergo chemotherapy treatments, while retaining the option to have children later. In most cases, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments lead to infertility. While options vary depending on age, type of cancer and cancer-treatment plan, egg freezing can provide these women the opportunity to preserve their fertility.

Egg Donation Provides Options for Pregnancy

Egg donation allows women to become pregnant even when they lack eggs of their own, or their eggs are of poor quality. The technique is most commonly used in women who are unsuccessful after undergoing multiple cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF), those with premature ovarian failure or elevated FSH levels, and those over the age of forty-three. The combination of young eggs and optimal preparation of both donor and recipient makes egg donation a very successful fertility procedure.

The process of egg donation requires that the components of a single IVF cycle be divided between the donor and the recipient. The donor undergoes the initial steps of IVF, including ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, and the recipient undergoes the embryo transfer.

Both women's cycles must be synchronized using birth control pills. When the cycle begins, the donor is administered the medications required for egg follicle development, while the recipient takes a combination of estrogen and progesterone to prepare the uterine lining for implantation. Once the donor's eggs are mature, they are retrieved and fertilized in the laboratory.

Typically the embryo transfer is scheduled 3 or 5 days later. The recipient continues to take estrogen and progesterone through the end of the first trimester to mimic the hormones produced by the ovary in natural conception. At the end of the first trimester (twelve weeks gestational age, or approximately ten weeks after embryo transfer), when the placenta is producing enough hormones. Estrogen and progesterone supplementation is stopped.

Fertility Preservation for Women with Cancer

The fertility preservation options available to patients are determined by patient age, the type and stage of cancer, and the required treatment. The course of action requires critical decision-making and communication between the patient, oncologist and reproductive endocrinologist. This team approach expedites the process and has been shown to yield the safest outcome.

Current options for preserving fertility include egg, embryo or ovarian tissue cryopreservation. Egg freezing is a newer procedure and is considered experimental by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Because of this, all activities at LIFE Research and its affiliates are conducted under the auspices of a research ethics board to assure patient safety.

It is important to consult with a specialist like Santa Monica Fertility Specialist Doctor John Jain, MD. Be sure to have all your questions answered and ensure you understand the egg freezing process prior to undergoing Egg Freezing and Fertility treatments.

What Is Egg Freezing and Who May Benefit?

Egg freezing is a breakthrough technology that allows women to freeze and store their eggs until a pregnancy is desired, at which time the eggs are thawed, fertilized and transferred to the uterus as embryos.

Many women today are feeling the pressure of having to choose between a career and a family. Some are returning to school or pursuing advanced degrees and don’t know when or if they will have children. For many, it may simply be an issue of not having found the right person yet. For all of these women, egg freezing is revolutionary not just in its technology, but in the freedom it can offer in allowing them to postpone childbearing.

Over 50,000 reproductive-aged women are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments typically lead to infertility by destroying the eggs. While options vary depending on age, type of cancer and cancer-treatment plan, egg freezing can provide these women the opportunity to preserve their fertility.

It is important to consult with a specialist like Santa Monica Fertility Specialist Doctor John Jain, MD. Be sure to have all your questions answered and ensure you understand the egg freezing process prior to undergoing Egg Freezing and Fertility treatments.