Egg Freezing

When the oocyte is fertilized, it is capable of becoming an embryo, attaching to a woman's uterine lining and developing into a healthy pregnancy and live birth.

Scientists' understanding is that a woman is born with a finite supply of oocytes, and as a woman ages, her egg supply dwindles until she has no more. This is when she enters menopause.

Ovarian reserve is a term that refers to the quantity and quality of the eggs a woman has left. Egg quantity and quality declines in the mid 30s and then declines faster in the late 30s and 40s.

There are screening tests for ovarian reserve, which are required prior to freezing eggs. These tests may include:

• Day 3 follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels test
• Estradiol levels test
• Clomiphene challenge test
• Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) levels test
• Ultrasound for an antral follicle count
• These tests can help determine which ovarian stimulation protocol would be most effective so we could retrieve the most eggs possible.

Egg Freezing Process

The first step in the egg freezing process is to find a fertility clinic near you that has expertise in and a history of sucessful egg freezing. EggFreezingAuthority can help you with this step. Just contact us.

Once you find the right fertility clinic for you, you will have testing to evaluate your ovarian reserve. This involves blood tests to measure hormones, as well as an ultrasound for an antral follicle count. The number of antral follicles visible on ultrasound indicates the relative number of microscopic primordial follicles that remain in the ovary. For example, a young woman under 30 with 10 follicles per ovary has a good chance of success with egg freezing.

You will also have a consultation with the medical team involved in egg freezing who will explain the procedure.You will be given information and forms so that the fertility clinic will have informed consent.

Then the treatment process begins. Each woman's treatment protocol is individualized to maximize egg production. However, all follow similar steps.

Ovarian Stimulation: You will start fertility drugs based on your individualized treatment protocol. This typically involves injectable fertility drugs that you will administer daily. These medications stimulate the ovaries to begin the growth of multiple healthy eggs. You will take these medications for eight to 12 days.

Monitoring: While taking fertility drugs, you will visit the fertility clinic every few days for for blood tests and monitoring with vaginal ultrasound to assess your follicle growth.

Trigger Shot: Once your ovarian follicles have attained a sufficient size, and your blood level of estrogen is adequate, you will probably take an intramuscular injection called the "trigger shot." This prepares your eggs for retrieval.

Egg Retrieval: Approximately 12 days after beginning medications and 36 hours after the "trigger shot," the eggs are ready for retrieval. You will receive some kind of anesthesia, and the fertility doctor will use an ultrasound-guided hollow needle, which is inserted through the back wall of the vagina up into the ovaries. The needle is used to aspirate (suction out) any follicles that may be present in the ovaries.

Egg Freezing: After the egg retrieval, the eggs are prepared for freezing using vitrification. They are transferred to a liquid nitrogen storage chamber, where they are stored in the frozen state until you are ready to thaw them and use them.