Egg freezing or mature oocyte cryopreservation helps the woman to get pregnant at a later date.
Indeed, life has become complex for women as they prefer to delay their childbearing experience. The prime age for childbearing is the mid to late 20s has shifted to the late 30s. With advancements in assisted reproduction techniques, it is possible to freeze eggs and even embryos, if required.
Egg freezing or mature oocyte cryopreservation helps the woman to get pregnant at a later date. In this method, the unfertilized but harvested eggs from the ovaries are frozen and preserved for later use. When the woman decides to get pregnant, the frozen eggs are thawed and combined with sperm through an IVF procedure.
Dr Mohit Saraogi of Iris IVF centre in Mumbai, one of India’s best IVF specialists advises, ‘Egg freezing ensures fertility potential of the women is preserved in the best possible way. A lot of meticulous planning goes into the egg freezing procedure with thorough diagnosis and testing. Overall, it relates to the availability of good quality eggs of the female patient whenever she decides to go ahead with her pregnancy.’
Dr Mohit Saraogi is known for highly successful IVF treatment in Mumbai. He is associated with the Iris IVF Centre of the Saraogi Hospital in Mumbai which has been offering infertility treatment for the last 38 years.
Further, he states, ‘Egg freezing is a simple and effective procedure for women who are not ready for childbearing. It allows them to fulfil their aspirations related to education, career, and even social goals before they proceed for the next stage in their lives’
Egg freezing – Procedure
The patient will have to take hormone injections to stimulate the hormones and produce multiple eggs. A mild anaesthesia is administered to the female for retrieving the eggs, which are then stored through the vitrification process. This increases the overall cost of the egg freezing procedure. Overall, the cost of an egg freezing procedure is slightly above 50% of the cost of an IVF cycle.
Egg freezing – Pros and Cons
Over the years, egg freezing technology has become much better and safer. There have been improvements in the methods of freezing eggs while the risk of damaging the eggs has significantly reduced. Due to its increased awareness, more and more women in their late 20s or early 30s are going ahead with egg freezing. They wish to preserve their fertility through good quality eggs rather than face the risk of miscarriages and chromosomal abnormalities if they become pregnant at an advanced age.
Women should freeze their eggs before reaching the mid-30s for future use if they wish to delay their pregnancy. Women can pursue their career goals and/or wait until they find a suitable life partner for the best possible outcomes. Also, most fertility treatments have been accepted as a norm.
There are many celebrities who have proceeded with egg freezing procedures and happy mothers today. Amongst the Hollywood stars, Kourtney Kardashian, Emma Roberts, Rita Ora, and Paris Hilton have frozen their eggs. Top Indian celebrities such as Ms Diana Hayden, Ms Mona Singh, and Ms Jwala Gutta in India have frozen their eggs. Incidentally, Ms Diana Hayden is a happy mother of three growing children.
Moving on to the cons of egg freezing, Dr. Mohit Saraogi warns, ‘Frozen eggs do not guarantee conception or a successful IVF procedure. The woman is likely to undergo many bodily changes which may or may not lead to a successful pregnancy.’
With increasing age, women can develop diabetes, fibroids, high blood pressure, and endometriosis, and so on. Simultaneously, the quality of sperm from the male counterpart may also deteriorate with time, which affects the pregnancy cycle and the baby.
Reasons for Egg freezing on account health or medical conditions
If the women are suffering from certain health conditions that lower the fertility quotient, viz. autoimmune diseases, sickle cell anemia, transgender orientation, etc. Ongoing treatment such as radiation or chemotherapy has toxic effects on the quality of eggs. During an ongoing IVF cycle, some individuals prefer egg freezing to embryo freezing.
Egg freezing has proved to be a reliable, affordable, and convenient treatment to delay motherhood without compromising eggs’ quality. Thus, today’s women can not only pursue their dreams and goals but also enjoy motherhood at a time convenient to them.
