Can I Freeze My Eggs?

Egg Freezing (Oocyte Cryopreservation)

It is a process that involves the hormonal stimulation of the ovaries, followed by transvaginal egg retrieval and subsequent freezing and storage of a woman’s viable eggs. Later on, when required the frozen eggs can be thawed (warmed), combined with sperm in an IVF lab, fertilized and then the fertilized embryo is implanted in the uterus.

Situations where egg freezing can be considered:

• 1. Women diagnosed with cancer that may require radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
• 2. Women with family history of early premature menopause.
• 3. Some genetic conditions in women which predisposes them to primary ovarian insufficiency.
• 4. Women who want to delay pregnancy due to various factors like – personal / professional / financial / psychological.

Most important clinical predictor of outcome in IVF using cryopreserved eggs – age of the woman at the time of egg freezing.

When is it the right age to do egg freezing?

Age negatively affects a woman’s egg supply, with both the quality and quantity rapidly deteriorating after the age of 35 years.
So, the best age would be the prime reproductive years, early 20s to early 30s.

The estimates of various standard practice guidelines (ASRM / SART) :

Survival rate of eggs after freezing and thawing : more than 90 %
Fertilization rate : 70 – 80 %
Implantation rate : 20 -- 40 %
Clinical pregnancy rate / frozen and thawed eggs : 5 – 12 %
The clinical pregnancy rates decrease with advanced maternal age at the time of egg freezing.

Tests done before egg freezing

1.Ultrasonography for ovarian reserve -- Antral follicle count
2.Hormone tests for ovarian reserve -- AMH
3.Infectious disease screening

Counselling prior to egg freezing

• Egg freezing does not guarantee a successful pregnancy or live birth.
• Accurate and balanced information on the safety and chances of a successful outcome has to be understood, and hence informed consent to be given accordingly.
• Women with pregnancy at advanced age using frozen eggs are at increased risk of other obstetric complications like gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, Cesarean delivery, preterm delivery, and low birth weight babies.

Risks involved

• Risks related to use of fertility drugs: In rare cases, Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome can develop.
• Risk related to egg retrieval procedure: These are bleeding, damage to bowel, bladder or blood vessels, infection.

Procedure

Injectable hormones are given to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Regular monitoring will be done with ultrasonography and blood tests till the follicles (fluid filled sacs which contain the egg) are ready for retrieval. This usually takes 10-14 days. Egg retrieval is done under sedation. It is usually done by a transvaginal route under ultrasound guidance. Then the eggs are frozen and stored.