Should You Freeze Your dreams or Your eggs? 10 Things You Must Know Before delivering on social egg freezing.
What is the Procedure for Freezing Your Eggs?
Egg freezing is a process that allows women to preserve their eggs for future use. There are many benefits that you can get from this practice such as preserving fertility, delaying childbearing, or others. Here is a general overview of the procedure:
- Initial Consultation:
Schedule an appointment with a fertility specialist to discuss reasons for egg freezing and assess reproductive health.
- Egg Quality:
Current egg quality assists will be ultrasound and blood tests.
- Ovarian Stimulation:
Undergo hormonal stimulation with injections to promote egg development, monitored through regular check-ups.
- Egg Retrieval:
Trigger ovulation with an trigger shot, followed by a minor surgical procedure to retrieve mature eggs.
- Cryopreservation:
Immediately freeze retrieved eggs using vitrification in a laboratory.
- Storage:
Transfer frozen eggs to a storage facility, stored in liquid nitrogen. By maintaining carefully, the cryo-storage conditions, storage can be liquid, and the stored eggs will be viable for multiple decades.
- Future Use:
Thaw selected eggs when ready to use, followed by fertilization through IVF.
What Should You Know Before Freezing Your Eggs?
Before deciding to freeze your eggs, you need to consider several factors to make an informed decision. Here are the 10 most important facts you should know before the process:
- Support System:
Build a support system of friends, family, or support groups who can provide emotional and practical support throughout the process.
- Age Matters:
You are more likely to have a successful egg freezing if it is done at a younger age. Preferably before 30 years.
- Realistic Expectations:
Have realistic expectations regarding success rates, potential complications, and the number of eggs needed for a successful future pregnancy. The number of eggs that need to be stored and the number of pregnancies planned in the future will also be a determinant in deciding the cycles.
- Financial Considerations:
Evaluate the costs involved, including medications, procedures, and storage fees.
- Legal and Ethical Considerations:
Understand the legal and ethical aspects, including the duration of storage, options for disposal, and the ownership of frozen eggs.
- Future Family Planning:
Clarify your future family planning intentions.
- Emotional and Psychological Impact:
Understand the potential emotional and psychological impact of the process.
- Risks and Side Effects:
Be aware of potential risks and side effects associated with ovarian stimulation medications and the egg retrieval procedure.
- Success Rates:
Understand the success rates of egg freezing and how they may vary based on factors like age and overall health.
- Time Constraints:
Be mindful of the time constraints, as the success of egg freezing is closely tied to the age at which the eggs are frozen.
Discussing these 10 considerations with your fertility specialist and possibly seeking a second opinion can help you make well-informed decisions about whether egg freezing is the right choice for you.
Should You Freeze Your Eggs or Not?
The decision to freeze your eggs is highly personal and depends on various factors. Here are some considerations to help you make an informed decision:
- Age and Fertility Status:
If you are approaching an age where fertility declines, and you are not ready to start a family, egg freezing might be a viable option to preserve your fertility.
- Medical Reasons:
If you are facing medical treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation, that may affect fertility, egg freezing could be a way to safeguard your reproductive potential.
- Career and Life Goals:
If your career goals or personal life, make it challenging to start a family now, but you want to keep the option open for the future, egg freezing may be a consideration.
- Financial Stability:
Egg freezing can be costly, and you should assess whether you can afford the procedure.
If you want to freeze your eggs, come to Eva IVF & Women’s Centre, which has world-class egg-freezing technologies like closed vitrification systems and liquid nitrogen room facilities. Radiofrequency, tagging of samples, etc., to ensure maximum biosafety and efficiency.