Egg Freezing: What You Need to Know About the Process, Risks and Cost

Although the technology of freezing an embryo has been around since the 1980s, preserving an unfertilized egg was a technical challenge that most scientists did not think they deserved. to be determined. In the late 1990s, however, researchers around the world found a way to freeze and thaw an egg without damaging it.
Early 2000s , fertility doctors in the United States conducted clinical trials to replicate the method. In 2012, there was strong evidence that the procedure led to similar fertilization and pregnancy rates as in vitro fertilization, which convinced the American Society for Reproductive Medicine to stop considering it a "procedure". experimental".
Without the label, insurance companies could cover the procedure, paving the way for tens of thousands of women to prolong their fertility by freezing their eggs. Nearly 20% of U.S. companies with more than 20,000 employees provide egg freezing coverage, up from 6% in 2015, according to a national survey by Mercer, a benefits consulting firm.
But even though egg freezing has become more popular over the past decade, the process can feel intense and overwhelming. Here's what you need to know.
What is egg freezing?
Women are usually born with around one million eggs, a number that is steadily decreasing with age. Egg cryopreservation, the technical term for egg freezing, is the procedure by which eggs are harvested, frozen, and stored for later use.
When In preparation for egg retrieval, patients take hormones to stimulate the ovaries, causing them to develop multiple follicles (fluid-filled sacs that each house an egg). Once the follicles reach a certain size, a fertility specialist will retrieve the eggs, freezing only those that are ready to be fertilized. The whole process takes about two weeks.
What does the process look like?
First, fertility specialists do a blood test to estimate the patient's current egg supply. They may also administer an ultrasound to measure the follicles and ensure that the ovaries can be easily reached during egg retrieval.
Some doctors may ask a patient to taking a hormonal contraceptive before starting fertility drugs to improve the chances that the follicles will grow together at about the same size and speed. Fertility centers tend to have their own birth control preferences and policies, said Dr. Mindy Christianson, medical director of Johns Hopkins Fertility Center.
Women undergoing the egg freezing process inject themselves with hormonal drugs once or twice a day. These injections, given for about eight to ten days, stimulate follicle growth.
Patients visit their doctor's office every few days to measure these follicles and test estrogen levels. The larger a follicle, the more likely it is to contain a mature egg, said Dr. Amanda Adeleye, reproductive endocrinologist and assistant professor at the University of Chicago. Although a woman may have thousands of eggs, "most of them won't respond to the medicine," she said.
About a week after the process begins, patients take medicine that blocks ovulation, so the eggs are not released before they can be retrieved. Then, once the follicles reach a certain size, patients give themselves a "trigger shot," which releases eggs for egg retrieval, said Dr. Elliot Richards, director of reproductive endocrinology. and infertility research at the Cleveland Clinic.
About 35 hours after the trigger pull, doctors perform the egg retrieval, draining each follicle by ins...

Health Dec 24, 2022 0 39 Add to Reading List

Egg Freezing: What You Need to Know About the Process, Risks and Cost

Although the technology of freezing an embryo has been around since the 1980s, preserving an unfertilized egg was a technical challenge that most scientists did not think they deserved. to be determined. In the late 1990s, however, researchers around the world found a way to freeze and thaw an egg without damaging it.

Early 2000s , fertility doctors in the United States conducted clinical trials to replicate the method. In 2012, there was strong evidence that the procedure led to similar fertilization and pregnancy rates as in vitro fertilization, which convinced the American Society for Reproductive Medicine to stop considering it a "procedure". experimental".

Without the label, insurance companies could cover the procedure, paving the way for tens of thousands of women to prolong their fertility by freezing their eggs. Nearly 20% of U.S. companies with more than 20,000 employees provide egg freezing coverage, up from 6% in 2015, according to a national survey by Mercer, a benefits consulting firm.

But even though egg freezing has become more popular over the past decade, the process can feel intense and overwhelming. Here's what you need to know.

What is egg freezing?

Women are usually born with around one million eggs, a number that is steadily decreasing with age. Egg cryopreservation, the technical term for egg freezing, is the procedure by which eggs are harvested, frozen, and stored for later use.

When In preparation for egg retrieval, patients take hormones to stimulate the ovaries, causing them to develop multiple follicles (fluid-filled sacs that each house an egg). Once the follicles reach a certain size, a fertility specialist will retrieve the eggs, freezing only those that are ready to be fertilized. The whole process takes about two weeks.

What does the process look like?

First, fertility specialists do a blood test to estimate the patient's current egg supply. They may also administer an ultrasound to measure the follicles and ensure that the ovaries can be easily reached during egg retrieval.

Some doctors may ask a patient to taking a hormonal contraceptive before starting fertility drugs to improve the chances that the follicles will grow together at about the same size and speed. Fertility centers tend to have their own birth control preferences and policies, said Dr. Mindy Christianson, medical director of Johns Hopkins Fertility Center.

Women undergoing the egg freezing process inject themselves with hormonal drugs once or twice a day. These injections, given for about eight to ten days, stimulate follicle growth.

Patients visit their doctor's office every few days to measure these follicles and test estrogen levels. The larger a follicle, the more likely it is to contain a mature egg, said Dr. Amanda Adeleye, reproductive endocrinologist and assistant professor at the University of Chicago. Although a woman may have thousands of eggs, "most of them won't respond to the medicine," she said.

About a week after the process begins, patients take medicine that blocks ovulation, so the eggs are not released before they can be retrieved. Then, once the follicles reach a certain size, patients give themselves a "trigger shot," which releases eggs for egg retrieval, said Dr. Elliot Richards, director of reproductive endocrinology. and infertility research at the Cleveland Clinic.

About 35 hours after the trigger pull, doctors perform the egg retrieval, draining each follicle by ins...