Egg Freezing
Egg Freezing
What is Egg Freezing / Cryopreservation?
Egg freezing begins with a minor, ultrasound-guided procedure to retrieve mature eggs directly from the ovaries. These eggs are then immediately cryopreserved, preserving their quality at that moment for a potential pregnancy up to 55 years in the future.
What is Egg Freezing / Cryopreservation?
Egg freezing begins with a minor, ultrasound-guided procedure to retrieve mature eggs directly from the ovaries. These eggs are then immediately cryopreserved, preserving their quality at that moment for a potential pregnancy up to 55 years in the future.
What is Egg Freezing / Cryopreservation?
Egg freezing begins with a minor, ultrasound-guided procedure to retrieve mature eggs directly from the ovaries. These eggs are then immediately cryopreserved, preserving their quality at that moment for a potential pregnancy up to 55 years in the future.
Is Egg Freezing Right for Me?
Egg freezing is a proactive choice for many individuals. You might consider it if you:
Egg freezing is a proactive choice for many individuals. You might consider it if you:
Are not ready to have a child, but want to preserve the option of having a biological child later in life.
Are undergoing IVF and wish to freeze surplus eggs for future cycles
Overview of The Process
Our dedicated team will be with you at every stage, providing personalized care and support. The entire process, from starting medications to retrieval, typically takes about two to three weeks.
Step 1: Initial Consultation and Ovarian Reserve Testing
Your journey begins with a one-on-one consultation with one of our fertility specialists. We will discuss your medical history, your goals, and answer all your questions. To get a clear picture of your fertility potential, we will perform:
Blood Tests: To measure key hormone levels like Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), which help us assess your ovarian reserve (the quantity of your remaining eggs).
Pelvic Ultrasound: To count your antral follicles, which are small, resting follicles that give us another important indicator of your egg supply.
Step 2: Ovarian Stimulation
In a natural menstrual cycle, your body typically matures and releases only one egg. The goal of ovarian stimulation is to encourage a larger number of your follicles to mature simultaneously.
Medication: You will self-administer injectable hormone medications for approximately 10-14 days. These are the same safe and effective medications used in IVF cycles.
Personalized Protocol: Our team will create a customized medication plan tailored specifically to your body's needs to maximize results while ensuring your safety.
Step 3: Monitoring
Throughout the stimulation phase, you will visit our clinic for several short appointments (typically 4-6 times). During these visits, we will:
Perform Ultrasounds: To monitor the growth and development of the follicles on your ovaries.
Conduct Blood Tests: To track your hormone levels and adjust medication dosages as needed. This careful monitoring ensures we can schedule the egg retrieval at the perfect time for optimal maturity.
Step 4: The Trigger Shot
Once your follicles have reached the ideal size, you will administer a final hormone injection called a "trigger shot." This injection induces the final maturation of the eggs within the follicles, preparing them for retrieval. The retrieval procedure is timed precisely, usually 35-36 hours after this shot.
Step 5: The Egg Retrieval Procedure
The egg retrieval is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure performed at our clinic.
Sedation: You will be under light sedation or anesthesia to ensure you are comfortable and do not feel any pain.
The Procedure: Using ultrasound guidance, your doctor will pass a thin needle through the vaginal wall into each ovary to gently collect the eggs from the mature follicles.
Duration and Recovery: The procedure itself only takes about 15-20 minutes. You will rest in our recovery area for about an hour before being discharged to go home. We recommend taking the rest of the day off to relax.
Step 6: Vitrification (Flash-Freezing)
Immediately after retrieval, our expert embryologists will identify the mature, healthy eggs. These eggs are then frozen using a cutting-edge technique called vitrification.
What is Vitrification? This ultra-rapid cooling process prevents the formation of ice crystals, which could damage the delicate egg. The egg is instantly frozen into a glass-like state.
High Survival Rates: Vitrification has dramatically improved the success of egg freezing, with egg survival rates after thawing now exceeding 90% in our state-of-the-art laboratory.
Your eggs are then safely stored in our secure cryopreservation tanks in liquid nitrogen until you are ready to use them.
Using Your Frozen Eggs
When you decide the time is right, the process is straightforward:
Thawing: Your eggs are carefully thawed by our embryology team.
Fertilization: The surviving eggs are fertilized with your partner's or a donor's sperm using a technique called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), where a single sperm is injected directly into each egg.
Embryo Culture: The resulting embryos are cultured in our lab for several days.
Embryo Transfer: The best-quality embryo is transferred into your uterus to hopefully achieve a pregnancy.
Overview of The Process
Our dedicated team will be with you at every stage, providing personalized care and support. The entire process, from starting medications to retrieval, typically takes about two to three weeks.
Step 1: Initial Consultation and Ovarian Reserve Testing
Your journey begins with a one-on-one consultation with one of our fertility specialists. We will discuss your medical history, your goals, and answer all your questions. To get a clear picture of your fertility potential, we will perform:
Blood Tests: To measure key hormone levels like Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), which help us assess your ovarian reserve (the quantity of your remaining eggs).
Pelvic Ultrasound: To count your antral follicles, which are small, resting follicles that give us another important indicator of your egg supply.
Step 2: Ovarian Stimulation
In a natural menstrual cycle, your body typically matures and releases only one egg. The goal of ovarian stimulation is to encourage a larger number of your follicles to mature simultaneously.
Medication: You will self-administer injectable hormone medications for approximately 10-14 days. These are the same safe and effective medications used in IVF cycles.
Personalized Protocol: Our team will create a customized medication plan tailored specifically to your body's needs to maximize results while ensuring your safety.
Step 3: Monitoring
Throughout the stimulation phase, you will visit our clinic for several short appointments (typically 4-6 times). During these visits, we will:
Perform Ultrasounds: To monitor the growth and development of the follicles on your ovaries.
Conduct Blood Tests: To track your hormone levels and adjust medication dosages as needed. This careful monitoring ensures we can schedule the egg retrieval at the perfect time for optimal maturity.
Step 4: The Trigger Shot
Once your follicles have reached the ideal size, you will administer a final hormone injection called a "trigger shot." This injection induces the final maturation of the eggs within the follicles, preparing them for retrieval. The retrieval procedure is timed precisely, usually 35-36 hours after this shot.
Step 5: The Egg Retrieval Procedure
The egg retrieval is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure performed at our clinic.
Sedation: You will be under light sedation or anesthesia to ensure you are comfortable and do not feel any pain.
The Procedure: Using ultrasound guidance, your doctor will pass a thin needle through the vaginal wall into each ovary to gently collect the eggs from the mature follicles.
Duration and Recovery: The procedure itself only takes about 15-20 minutes. You will rest in our recovery area for about an hour before being discharged to go home. We recommend taking the rest of the day off to relax.
Step 6: Vitrification (Flash-Freezing)
Immediately after retrieval, our expert embryologists will identify the mature, healthy eggs. These eggs are then frozen using a cutting-edge technique called vitrification.
What is Vitrification? This ultra-rapid cooling process prevents the formation of ice crystals, which could damage the delicate egg. The egg is instantly frozen into a glass-like state.
High Survival Rates: Vitrification has dramatically improved the success of egg freezing, with egg survival rates after thawing now exceeding 90% in our state-of-the-art laboratory.
Your eggs are then safely stored in our secure cryopreservation tanks in liquid nitrogen until you are ready to use them.
Using Your Frozen Eggs
When you decide the time is right, the process is straightforward:
Thawing: Your eggs are carefully thawed by our embryology team.
Fertilization: The surviving eggs are fertilized with your partner's or a donor's sperm using a technique called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), where a single sperm is injected directly into each egg.
Embryo Culture: The resulting embryos are cultured in our lab for several days.
Embryo Transfer: The best-quality embryo is transferred into your uterus to hopefully achieve a pregnancy.