Egg and Embryo Freezing and Sperm Banking

Medically-Recommended Preservation

The former category generally encompasses those circumstances where a patient is facing a medical condition whose recommended course of treatment can compromise fertility. The most conspicuous of these is cancer, where treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation can irreparably damage the reproductive function of the ovaries or testicles. When a patient is facing this scenario, we highly recommend that they have eggs or sperm retrieved for fertility preservation prior to the first round of treatment. Eggs and sperm are much more likely to be undamaged when frozen pre-emptively rather than after one or more rounds of cancer treatment.

The good news in this case is that eggs, sperm and embryos can all be preserved for many years with no decrease in quality. The fact that the gametes can be cryopreserved indefinitely provides reassurance and peace of mind for patients preparing for medical treatment. They can focus on their treatment knowing that they have taken steps to preserve their fertility and that their eggs/sperm/embryos will be waiting for them when they are ready to attempt to conceive. When the timing is right, the eggs, sperm or embryos can be thawed using a protocol that has a very high survival rate.

With current vitrification (flash freezing) protocols and technology, we are figuratively and literally freezing time. A woman that freezes her eggs at age 28 will have essentially the same chance of a pregnancy using those eggs at age 40 as she would have had when they were retrieved at age 28.

Lifestyle Factors in Egg/Embryo Freezing

The second type of fertility preservation is what we refer to as Elective cryopreservation. This admittedly casts a very wide net and doesn’t adequately cover all of the varied reasons that a woman may decide to freeze her eggs. For the sake of simplicity, we will put all reasons aside from medically prudent egg freezing in this category.

Some of the non-medical reasons for which a woman may freeze her eggs include:

• Being at a point in her professional life where she has a desire to continue to carry her momentum forward without a break.
• Not having a strong desire for children at this point in her life despite having a partner.
• Not having a partner she wishes to have a child(ren) with.
• A desire to create better circumstances for her baby/family before attempting to conceive; this could mean better income, more job stability, a more established relationship, a larger home, a more suitable city, or any of a number of other factors.
• Urging from her parent(s) to preserve her fertility – and perhaps having fertility preservation paid for by a parent or relative.

A woman that is considering fertility preservation – even remotely – should be proactive about getting information and learning what her options are. When it comes to fertility, age is the most significant factor in a woman’s likelihood of conception. The younger a woman is when she freezes her eggs, the more viable eggs she will have when she is ready to conceive. At age 28, approximately 30-40% of a woman’s eggs are chromosomally normal. By age 39-40, that decreases to only about 8-10%. So, all things being equal, the age at which a woman’s eggs are frozen is the single most important factor in successful fertility preservation and future conception.

The takeaway here is that foresight and advance planning are everything when it comes to egg freezing.

What’s the Next Step?

Contact us to schedule a consultation with Dr. Caperton or the other providers at Caperton Fertility Institute to discuss egg/embryo freezing options. They will answer all of your questions and help you decide which option best suits your circumstances and goals. When and if you decide to proceed with Egg/Embryo Freezing, we will provide detailed instructions and timing for you and hold your hand through every step of the process.

Regardless of the underlying reasons, there are several options for fertility preservation: a female patient can freeze eggs or embryos (fertilized eggs) and a male patient can freeze sperm. Until several years ago, the success rate for freezing embryos was significantly higher than the success rate for freezing eggs. With the development and introduction of a new egg freezing technology known as vitrification, it is now possible to achieve comparable freeze/thaw survival rates with eggs and embryos.

Given the advanced and effective protocols for ovarian stimulation and egg/embryo freezing that we have access to and expertise with, birth rates with frozen eggs or embryos are virtually identical to those of fresh eggs. Our cutting edge embryology lab environment, equipment and staff are the best in the industry when it comes to egg and embryo freezing techniques. They have performed hundreds of preservation cycles and can offer the highest success rates for fertility preservation. Recent advances in cryopreservation and vitrification technology have dramatically improved outcomes in this area, and have positioned our lab and staff at the forefront of fertility preservation providers nationwide.

Whether you are looking to pause the biological clock for lifestyle reasons or to bank eggs/embryos/sperm when facing chemotherapy or radiation treatment, we can help. Current technology now offers patients options with extremely high success rates that just a few years ago would have been nearly impossible to achieve. Whatever path you choose, we are here to be your guide through the process.