What is fertility preservation?
It is a process which helps women or men to retain their reproductive ability through freezing biological material (ovum or sperm).
They preserve their reproductive potential to procreate since they can use their genetic material whenever they want to.
Why is egg freezing the right option for me?
Indications
- Women who need oophorectomy. In this case, a healthy part of ovarian tissue or follicles (ova) can be frozen before removal
- Women who need to undergo radiotherapy in the lower abdomen (radiation destroys the eggs so it is essential to preserve and store some of them before the therapy)
- Women who have on their mind getting pregnant after the age of 40. After this age, the oocyte production is low and the probabiltity of pregnancy (even through IVF method) is really diminished
What is the procedure?
The procedure is simple. After the appropriate examinations, the first step is the administration of fertility medication in order to stimulate the egg production.
When the follicles reach the appropriate size, eggs are collected (egg retrieval) and kept frozen.
What happens if you decide to have a child after the procedure of egg freezing?
The frozen samples are thawed on specific days of your menstrual cycle while the endometrial preparation has been started in order to accept the embryo. (Embryos are the fertilized ova)
After 3-5 days the embryos are transferred into the uterus (embryo transfer).
Is egg freezing harmless?
The rapid cryopreservation methods have improved the success rate while the recent data are reassuring that the frozen eggs keep their quality during the freezing and thaw process.
What should I do if I want to freeze my eggs?
Consult Dr. Marinakis.
