All about egg vitrification
What is oocyte vitrification?
Oocyte vitrification is the process by which a woman can freeze her eggs to preserve her fertility and preserve her reproductive material for the future. In this way you will be able to postpone motherhood without your biological material being damaged by the passage of time.
Who is the vitrification of the eggs for?
It is well known that every day we postpone motherhood more. The reasons are various, studies, the world of work, the couple, etc... in any case, Being a mother after 30 and even after 40 is no longer new or strange.
However, we enter into a contraindication, when socially we want to be mothers, we are no longer in the ideal moment on a biological level to be one. In other words, social age and biological age do not agree.
One way to maintain our biological age in optimal conditions to be able to become mothers in the future with the highest quality of eggs is by freezing them and using them in the future thanks to assisted reproduction techniques.
The first thing you should know is that oocyte vitrification is a technique to preserve fertility for two large groups of women. The first is in cases of a disease for which one has to undergo medical treatment that damages or could damage the reproductive material, as is the case of oncological treatments.In this case, by saving it before this treatment, the eggs are protected from any damage. The other large group is women who have a low ovarian reserve. Either because they genetically have a low ovarian reserve or because, due to age, a smaller number of oocytes are present or their quality may decrease.
The process of extracting eggs through ovarian stimulation
In order to preserve fertility we must go to an assisted reproduction center. We must know that fertility decreases after the age of 35, so if in our case we are considering postponing the motherhood after that age, it is important to go to a reproduction center to be able to check our ovarian reserve and assess freezing.
In oocyte vitrification, the stimulation cycle must first be done. This stimulation is through medical controls and medication to encourage several follicles to grow. In each follicle, there may be a mature oocyte, therefore, the gynecologist will control the procedure to be able to obtain the maximum number of quality oocytes to have a higher success rate and will remove them in the follicular puncture using sedation. of the patient.
The freezing process in liquid nitrogen
Once the gynecologist has performed the follicular stimulation and subsequent puncture and has obtained the eggs, they are processed in the reproduction laboratory to evaluate their quality and prepare them for vitrification in liquid nitrogen.
This freezing causes the material to freeze instantly and behave like a crystal, lowering the temperature instantly and creating ice crystals that preserve the material. In this way, you can preserve for years or decades or until the woman decides to thaw them to use them or to destroy them if she considers it so.
The moment of thawing or devitrification
At the moment that the woman who has gone through the egg vitrification process wants to thaw the material for use, she only has to go to the assisted reproduction clinic and indicate it so that an in vitro fertilization process and the subsequent transfer can begin. .
The steps would be the following
- Preparation of woman's body to receive the possible embryos, ultrasound controls and blood tests.
- Preparation of the male part, evaluation of the semen analysis and analysis or preparation of the semen bank sample if necessary.
- When the woman's cycle is ready, defrost vitrified oocytes and are fertilized in the laboratory through IVF with the ICSI technique
- It is valued growth and development of embryos and its quality. If required, their genetic load can be analyzed through Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis or PGD, in this case the transfer of the embryos would be in a different cycle.
- Carry out the transfer of the embryos, fresh or frozen, to the mother's uterus. If there are several embryos obtained, those that are not transferred are vitrified again with very good survival results.
- Betawait, time to wait and be able to know if there has been implantation of the embryo and there is pregnancy.
After this process, the growth of the embryos and the evolution of everything Pregnancy is exactly the same whether it has been achieved naturally or through assisted reproduction.. What does change is that a 40-year-old woman who froze her oocytes at 30 is getting pregnant with her material at 30, and not only did she have more material, but it is of higher quality and has less risk. of abortions and complications.
Thus, oocyte vitrification in liquid nitrogen is a great possibility for women with low reserve or for oncology patients who want to preserve fertility. With magnificent pregnancy rates thanks to in vitro fertilization after devitrification when the woman wishes.
A woman can decide when it is her time to become a mother thanks to fertility preservation
How much does egg vitrification cost?
Ok, now you know who oocyte vitrification is for and what the process is like.
but how much does it cost? What does egg freezing cost?
Perhaps you have considered that oocyte vitrification responds to your situation and the next question is whether we can afford it. Here I present the economic fronts that must be covered to preserve fertility
- Ovarian stimulation treatment. Medical treatment must be paid for. In this case, you should consult with the assisted reproduction center to find out its budget. Keep in mind that you can visit a couple or three clinics, but the prices are very similar. The important thing is that you are comfortable with the clinic and the professionals who care for you.
- The cost of medication: You must pay for the medication for the stimulation procedure separately from the clinic. At this point, each woman may need very different mediation. It is important that you ask your medical professional to estimate the mediation you will need.
- The maintenance of oocytes. Normally a monetary amount is stipulated for each year of maintenance. You should ask this point before doing the stimulation to be clear about the entire budget and a global vision, not just that of ovarian stimulation.
- Thawing and IVF. At the time of thawing, you must pay for the in vitro fertilization procedure with your embryo transfer. In this case, if a sperm bank or extra tests such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis are needed, they will also be added.
This will be the total price of the entire process, that of egg freezing and subsequent treatments.
However, keep in mind that you may freeze the material and then not use it because you became pregnant naturally or because you have finally decided not to be a mother or the procedure has not worked. At this point, the important thing is not the cost of the procedure, it is the fact that you have ensured your maternity as much as possible and the possibility of being able to choose whenever you want, and that is the most valuable thing about the entire oocyte vitrification process.
So,
Is it worth freezing eggs?
My personal opinion is yes, without a doubt. Better to regret having frozen eggs than not having done so, or not having tried. Furthermore, the success rates are very good and it is a procedure, as you have seen, that is simple and routine for assisted reproduction centers.
