Unlike Embryo Cryopreservation (fertilised eggs), during Egg Freezing, the eggs are not fertilised with sperms before they are frozen. This means the eggs are only fertilised with the sperms (insemination) once the Frozen-Eggs are thawed when you are ready to engage in pregnancy and motherhood.
Occasionally, when some medical condition arises, for example, when facing cancer. Undergoing cancer treatment – like chemotherapy or radiotherapy may harm your egg reserve inside your ovaries. Egg freezing enables you to protect your eggs from being damaged during cancer treatment. Thus, rather than keeping all your eggs in one basket, egg freezing before starting your fertility medical treatment enable you to engage in pregnancy after you have completed your fertility medical treatment.
Please note that not all women are suitable for egg freezing. Fertility assessment and ovarian reserve testing are required during your initial assessment of fertility health and ovarian reserve status, including the eligibility for egg freezing.
You would be injected with hormones that will stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple eggs, in contrast with only one egg during your usual menstrual cycle. Besides, an additional hormone that prevents premature egg release may be instilled during the treatment.
Your fertility treatment doctor will monitor your progress. You will have blood tests to measure your response to ovarian stimulation medication if needed.
Your follow-up visits to the fertility treatment clinic usually include a vagina ultrasound scan (a procedure that uses sound waves to create an image on the computer screen) to monitor the development of follicles (fluid-filled sacs where the eggs mature), which consist of eggs that are located inside ovaries.
In general, after 10 to 12 days of ovarian hormonal stimulation — when the follicles reach the size of 18 to 20 mm, they indicate that the eggs are ready for Egg (Ovum) Pick Up.
Subsequently, an injection of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (Pregnyl, Ovidrel, Hucog) or Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone (Decapeptyl) is used to enhance further egg development and maturity.
Usually, around 10-20 eggs are retrieved during the procedure, depending on your profile and Ovarian (Eggs) Reserve.
If necessary, you may need to repeat the Egg Freezing procedure to pool your eggs together to improve your chance of fertility treatment success.
Your Frozen-Eggs are thawed then fertilised (inseminated) with your partner’s sperms once you are ready to conceive. The fertilised eggs (now called Embryo) will be culture and incubated for 3 to 5 days in the laboratory. Depending on the outcome, not all eggs will develop into Embryos as some eggs will degenerate and fail to fertilise.
Subsequently, one or two of the Day 3 or Day 5 Embryos are transferred back to your womb for implantation and pregnancy. If available, the remaining fertilised eggs (Embryos) will be frozen and kept for future use.
You may not need to repeat the Ovarian Stimulation procedure, as the Embryos are already created and kept for future usage. Oral hormonal treatment can use to prepare the womb lining and improve the receptivity of the womb to Embryo before the Embryo Transfer procedure if needed.
To be continued…
