Oocyte cryopreservation (egg freezing)

Oocyte cryopreservation is a laboratory technique which allows for freezing of unfertilized eggs for future use. Applications for such technology are vast, ranging from suspending reproductive potential in women not ready to conceive for personal reasons to preserving fertility in women scheduled to undergo cancer treatments that are damaging to the ovaries.

As women advance beyond the age of 30, their ovarian reserve diminishes along with their fertility. Women who delay childbearing until after late in the third decade of life may experience infertility solely due to diminished ovarian reserve. Previously, such women would have to resort to advanced fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), in order to conceive. However, with the advent of new and promising techniques for oocyte cryopreservation, women in their 20's and early 30's who are not ready for a child because they are without a significant other or due to the pursuit of professional aspirations, may freeze eggs in order to suspend their biological clock in time.

Cancer is a devastating diagnosis. When it occurs in women of reproductive age the devastation may be more pronounced. Not only is a woman's life at stake, but if she is fortunate to survive the ordeal, her future fertility may be severely compromised and she may not be able to conceive. This is because many therapeutic measures used to battle cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, may be toxic to a woman's ovaries, and thus to her ovarian reserve. In the recent past, women of reproductive age who had been diagnosed with cancer were presented with two treatment options for fertility preservation: IVF with embryo storage or ovarian tissue cryopreservation, prior to cancer therapy. IVF with embryo storage followed by a frozen embryo transfer once patients are cancer-free yields high success rates but requires that patients have a significant other (or use donor sperm). Ovarian tissue cryopreservation, involving the surgical removal of ovarian tissue and its cryopreservation with subsequent thawing and transplantation once patients are cancer-free, does not require a male partner, but has only been documented to be successful in a handful of cases. Today, cancer patients of reproductive-age may successfully pursue egg freezing prior to cancer treatment as means of preserving fertility. The technique is fast, simple, and yields excellent fertilization rates and embryo development with good pregnancy rates. As more and more clinical information is accumulating on the outcome of egg freezing and live birth rates from around the world, data on safety is highly reassuring.

The California Center for Reproductive Health offers egg freezing to patients and couples in need. Our team of highly trained embryologists uses only safe IRB-approved (institutional review board) protocols to ensure optimal results. In general, pregnancy outcomes depend on a woman's age and ovarian reserve, with the highest success seen in patients under the age of 35 years with normal FSH values. However, no patient is turned away from treatment if it is determined that oocyte cryopreservation is an appropriate treatment protocol.