Egg Freezing
Egg Freezing ivf.com.au | 1800 111 IVF While embryo and sperm freezing are well-recognised infertility treatments, with many thousands of babies born as result, egg freezing is a relatively new option for fertility preservation. Egg freezing is a method of storing a woman’s unfertilised eggs, with a view to them being used in the future. It may be seen as a way of preserving the potential for fertility, in women who are not in a position to become pregnant, or whose fertility is at risk. Recent work by Australian and international scientists has resulted in improved techniques for egg freezing and thawing and there have now been over 5,000 babies born (worldwide) following egg freezing. Frozen eggs may be stored for many years. When the woman is ready to use her eggs, they are warmed, and then fertilised with sperm. The aim is for a healthy fertilised egg to develop into an embryo, which may then be transferred to the woman’s uterus, with a subsequent chance of pregnancy. Ovarian function, fertility and age During a woman’s reproductive years, the ovary contains hundreds of thousands of immature eggs. Usually, one ripe, mature egg is released each month, and many hundreds of eggs die off naturally. As a woman grows older, the number of eggs available to go through the maturing process becomes less, until by the age of 50 or so no eggs remain (menopause). A woman’s most fertile years are when she is in her 20’s and early 30’s, when the ovaries still contain a large number of healthy eggs. For the 10 – 15 years prior to menopause, despite a woman having regular ovulatory cycles (monthly periods), the ovarian function deteriorates. 1000,000 Egg Number Optimal Fertility Decreased Fertility 100,000 A woman’s most fertile years are when she is aged in her 20’s and early 30’s End of Fertility 10,000 Irregular Cycles 1000 Birth 13 18 31 37 41 Maternal Age (years) 45 51 Menopause Egg freezing preparation To obtain eggs for freezing, a woman will usually undergo hormonal stimulation over 10 – 12 days enabling a number of eggs (usually 10 – 15) to mature. There are a variety of stimulation techniques, and your fertility specialist will decide, in discussion with you, which is the most appropriate for your treatment. The stimulation medications are a self administered injection using a tiny needle under the skin. Patients are taught how to do this in an instructive, introductory consultation. The injections may make the woman feel a little bloated but she can carry out all normal activities up until the day of the egg retrieval. Procedure to collect the eggs The eggs are collected from the ovaries using an ultrasound guided probe. Attached to the ultrasound probe is a needle. The fine needle passes through the vaginal wall into the ovary and draws the fluid (and egg) from the ovary. Patients can go home about one hour after the procedure and are advised to rest for the remainder of the day. 55% 50% 45% 40% 10 eggs frozen 6 eggs survive thaw process 3 embryos once fertilised Egg freezing procedure The eggs undergo a freezing procedure in the IVF laboratory called vitrification. This involves freezing the eggs by a rapid process that extracts the fluid from the eggs to prevent crystal formation. Once vitrified, eggs may be stored for many years. Success rates As the technique for egg freezing is relatively new, it is not possible to give precise figures for the chance of pregnancy after freezing, future thawing and fertilisation. Currently we would expect that: • A stimulated cycle would result in the collection of 10 – 12 eggs of which 7-9 would be suitable for vitrification & storage • Approximately 60 – 70% of eggs would survive warming in the future • Approximately 50 – 80% of surviving eggs would fertilise • Approximately 90% of fertilised eggs would develop into embryos • A single embryo would have a 15% -35% chance of developing into a pregnancy. Considerations when thinking about egg freezing Egg freezing is a very good option for a young woman who is facing the prospect of cancer treatment or other treatment that may harm her eggs. The issues are, however, more complex for other women, who are considering freezing their eggs because they are not yet in a position to have a family. As with IVF itself, the success rate of egg freezing is closely related to the age of the eggs and there is only limited data about the success rates of vitrified eggs from older women. Despite the technical advances in freezing, vitrified eggs have a lower success rate than fresh eggs in achieving fertilization and development of embryos. Eggs that have been vitrified then warmed are thought to be the equivalent of using eggs from a woman 3-5 years older. Given this effect and the lower egg number in older women, there is really no value at all in egg freezing for a woman who is already over the age of 38. For younger women with low AMH levels, egg freezing is a very reasonable option for them to consider. This is because egg quality is dependent on age, and they will most likely run out of eggs sooner. There is also the important issue that egg freezing is only a partial insurance and that you will not know the outcome for many years of how your stored frozen eggs will fertilise. This leads to a dilemma, of when to actually use your frozen eggs. Are you planning to postpone your family to your late forties, with all the health and social consequences that that will involve for you. Or are you planning to use your stored eggs when you are in your late thirties, at which time your own ovaries may still work just as well as the stored oocytes? Finally, cost is a serious consideration. In Australia, Medicare and other government subsidies are only payable for fertility treatment when there is a medical indication present, and out-of-pocket costs are much higher where there is no medical indication. For an explanation of costs call our Public Liaison Coordinator on 1800 111 IVF. You need to give careful thought to all of this in considering egg freezing. Other possible risks Serious side-effects of the stimulation process used to collect a woman’s eggs are very rare nowadays. Possible problems may include bloating at one extreme and rarely, failure to obtain eggs, at the other extreme. Egg pick up may be complicated by bleeding or pelvic infections, although this is very uncommon. Other risks of egg freezing relate to the possible failure of the treatment: the eggs may not survive the thawing procedure, may not fertilise or develop into embryos, or may not result in pregnancy after embryo transfer. A woman contemplating egg freezing should have counselling to consider other options which may be available to her, such as donor insemination (for more immediate rather than delayed treatment) or the possible future use of donor eggs if her own ovarian function is likely to be lost. How to access our egg freezing program You can be referred by your local doctor or another medical specialist, directly to an IVFAustralia fertility specialist. The fertility specialist will take a medical history, arrange any necessary investigations including blood tests and ultrasound assessment of the ovaries, and offer a counselling referral. If you choose to have egg freezing, the fertility specialist will then manage your care through the stimulation and egg collection procedure. IVFAustralia’s Network of Care Consultation & Monitoring Consulting Rooms Bondi Jn Burwood Castle Hill 16th Floor Westfield Tower 2, 500 Oxford St Suite 18 Level 7, 74-76 Burwood Suite 4, 15-17 Terminus St 8305 9800 8346 6840 9894 4419 Dee Why Gosford Greenwich Level 3, 834 Pittwater Road Level 2 Suite 24, 207 North Albany St Level 2, 176 Pacific Highway 9950 6000 4349 2000 9425 1600 Haymarket Kogarah Liverpool Level 5 Sussex Centre 401 Sussex St Level 3 St George Private Hospital South St Ground Floor 16-18 Bigge St 9281 3822 8567 6955 8844 1575 Maroubra Miranda Newcastle Level 1, 225 Maroubra Rd Suite 4, 20-24 Gibbs St The Heights Private Medical Centre 2 Lookout Rd New Lambton Heights 8372 3200 8567 6980 4957 8515 St Leonards Sydney CBD Wahroonga 16 Marshall Ave Level 1, 33 York St Suite 103 Tulloch Building Sydney Adventist Hospital 185 Fox Valley Road Wahroonga 9439 3158 8346 6800 9425 1780 Westmead Level 2, 20-22 Mons Rd 8844 1550 HUNTER IVF NEW LAMBTON HEIGHTS GOSFORD WAHROONGA CASTLE HILL DEE WHY CHATSWOOD WESTMEAD BURWOOD GREENWICH ST LEONARDS HAYMARKET . SYDNEY BONDI JN RANDWICK LIVERPOOL MAROUBRA KOGARAH MIRANDA COMM-PI-089 | 8MAY2015 Clinic
© Copyright 2024