How Can Egg Freezing Preserve My Fertility?
More and more women are choosing to delay having children. Some women must also delay childbearing due to medical issues. However, because the quality and quantity of eggs diminishes as a woman ages, many worry about future fertility struggles when they are ready to have children. Egg freezing allows women to preserve their eggs for future IVF treatments or surrogacy when they are ready to have children. The Center for Fertility and Gynecology in Tarzana, Encino, Bakersfield, Thousand Oaks, and Torrance offers egg freezing as a fertility treatment to help women have children on their own time.
Why Do Women Choose Egg Freezing?
There are a variety of reasons why a woman would choose to freeze her eggs.
- Career or Educational Goals/Opportunities - Many women want to delay having children due to their career or education.
- Relationships - For some, the decision to delay starting a family may be because they have not found a partner they wish to have children with or their partner is not ready.
- Medical - Egg freezing can benefit women with health issues such as cancer or a family history of early menopause. These women can preserve healthy eggs before medical treatment or genetic issues impact the quality of their eggs.
How Does Egg Freezing Preserve Fertility?
Egg freezing does not prevent you from experiencing fertility issues. Instead, egg freezing is much like an insurance policy. Viable, healthy eggs are collected and cryopreserved in the event that you experience issues conceiving naturally later. Some patients also choose to freeze extra eggs collected during an IVF cycle to use later or in the event that a cycle is not successful.
How Are Frozen Eggs Used?
When you are ready to use your frozen eggs, they are gently thawed. Then, your eggs are fertilized using your partner’s sperm or donated sperm. The fertilized egg is monitored for development in our advanced fertility lab. The resulting embryos can be screened for potential genetic abnormalities and gender through preimplantation genetic testing. The healthiest embryos, typically one or two, are then transferred to the mother’s uterus. In some cases, a gestational surrogate is used, and the resulting embryos are transferred to her uterus for further development.
Are Frozen Eggs Guaranteed?
Nothing in life is guaranteed. However, at the Center for Fertility and Gynecology, we have proudly achieved IVF success rates that are higher than the national average. There are several factors that can impact your personal success rates, including:
- The age at which you freeze your eggs
- The quality of your eggs before freezing
- Any issues that may impact the quality of your eggs
- Health factors that may hinder successful implantation
On average, 74% of women who freeze their eggs before the age of 34 will experience a successful birth from frozen eggs.
Want to Find Out if Egg Freezing is Right for You?
If you are concerned about your future fertility and want to explore egg freezing as an option, contact our practice to request a consultation with Dr. Michael Vermesh or Dr. Tannaz Toloubeydokhti at one of our California locations today.