Egg freezing, otherwise known as Mature Oocyte Cryopreservation, is one of the more advanced modern fertility treatments we offer at our clinic. Mature Oocyte Cryopreservation remained in its experimental phase until January 2013, but today it is a routine procedure we perform at HART Fertility Clinic with positive results when in conjunction with our North Houston IVF treatment.
Who Should Consider Freezing Their Eggs?
Egg freezing is first and foremost used as a method to preserve your fertility in the event that you prefer to wait until later on to have children.
We often recommend that our patients freeze their eggs if:
- They are currently undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy, since these therapies may be toxic to their eggs
- They are suffering from an autoimmune disease
- They are a transgender patient
How Does The Egg Freezing Process Work?
If you plan to freeze your eggs, there are a few steps involved:
1: Ovarian Stimulation
Our fertility specialists at our IVF clinics in The Woodlands and Kingwood will first stimulate ovulation before we retrieve your eggs. This way, we may retrieve more than one healthy egg. To stimulate your ovaries, you will undergo hormone injections, similar to how IVF patients do.
2: Egg Retrieval
Once you have completed this series of injections, we will retrieve your eggs through a minor and very painless procedure known as a “transvaginal ultrasound-guided needle aspiration”.
3: Freezing Your Eggs
Once retrieved, we must immediately freeze your eggs. During the experimental phase, it was found that ice crystals would form over the egg, eventually destroying the cell. This was due to the high water content your eggs have, so to avoid this, we dehydrate the eggs and use a rapid freezing technique that protects the cell until you are ready to undergo IVF.
North Houston IVF In The Future
In the future, when you decide you’re ready to have children, we will thaw your frozen eggs and prepare your uterus to accept an embryo. Then, we will use your partner’s sperm or donor sperm to fertilize the egg and let it develop into a blastocyst–the day 5 embryo stage. At this stage, you may elect to under Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) to give you the best chance of sustaining a healthy pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby. If you would like to find out if freezing your eggs is right for you, please request an appointment with us. We look forward to helping you achieve your dream of parenthood!
