Is It Safe To Freeze Eggs For Better Fertility?

Egg freezing is also known as a mature oocyte cryopreservation. It is a method used to preserve the reproductive potential in women.

The eggs are harvested from your ovaries, frozen unfertilised and stored for later use. When the frozen egg is thawed, it is combined with the sperm in a lab and implanted in the uterus of the woman.

This process is also called in vitro fertilisation or IVF. Today, the lifestyle of every woman is bleak and due to a non-focused way of living, women are unable to conceive.

Therefore, this expensive treatment is the best, as it provides a couple with at least 50 percent chances of starting a family.

According to experts, the best outcome for egg freezing tends to be for women who freeze their eggs when they are younger than 35 years of age.

Due to this, a lot of fertility clinics have encouraged women to consider the option of egg freezing in their late 20s or early 30s and not later than this.

Doctors state that the women should consider the age limit on egg freezing, as it is highly important when it comes to the quality of eggs. So, are you interested to know more about freezing of the eggs?

Why Should Women Freeze Their Eggs?
Freezing the eggs is considered to be an option for women who plan a late pregnancy. When you pass the age barrier of having a child, conceiving would be a little difficult. Therefore, with the help of this method, you can have a chance of being a parent.

How Does The Procedure Work?
After a mandatory round of consultation, the woman's ovaries are stimulated using fertility medications. She is then administered a hormone injection for about a week to prompt the release of the eggs.

The hormone shots are taken much like how diabetic patients take their insulin injections, wherein the needle needs to be injected into the belly or the thigh. This might cause a mild discomfort as the fluid is injected. The ovarian response is monitored over the next two weeks.

Once the eggs are considered ready, oocyte harvest or egg retrieval is carried out under mild intravenous sedation. This takes about 10 to 15 minutes and is a painless procedure.

The eggs are removed with the help of a needle that is passed through the vagina under ultrasound guidance. The retrieved eggs are then frozen by first dehydrating the egg and then replacing the water with an anti-freeze fluid to prevent ice crystals from forming and damaging the cell.

When & How Does Conception Happen?
The eggs can be stored for up to 10 years. When the woman decides to have a baby, the egg is thawed and the partner's sperm is injected. You should also be aware that not all the eggs can be fertilised. 1-3 of them out of a million will be active.

How Do The Eggs Go Into The Uterus?
The fertilised eggs are injected into the woman's fallopian tubes using a small flexible tube that is inserted through her cervix. This little method will cause a little pressure in the abdomen along with discomfort; however, it is a little procedure, so it is worth a shot.

Is The Process Worth A Million Bucks?
The success rate solely depends on the woman's age. If a woman preserves her eggs at 25 years of age, the success rate is about 40 per cent; while it might be as less as 20 percent around 35 years and can reduce drastically post 40 years.