This is an automatically translated article.
This article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Thi Cam Van - IVF Lab Doctor - Reproductive Support Center - Vinmec Times City International Hospital.Egg freezing method is being chosen by many women to be able to focus more on work without losing the opportunity to become a mother. Frozen eggs also give women more time to find a suitable partner, while the reproductive quality is maintained.
1. What is egg freezing?
Egg freezing is a method used to preserve a woman's ability to become pregnant. Eggs taken from the ovaries will be frozen and preserved for a long time, when necessary, they will be thawed, artificially inseminated with sperm to form embryos and implanted in the pregnant woman's uterus.Women's fertility declines with age, so this method is suitable for women who are not ready to become pregnant now but want to have children in the future. Egg freezing is also commonly done for women who are being treated for cancer or other medical conditions that can affect fertility.
Egg freezing was first implemented in Australia in 1986. Since then, egg freezing techniques have been continuously improved. The former method of egg freezing is slow freezing or programmed cooling. This is a method with a lot of risks, with a low success rate. Eggs are the largest cells in the body and contain a significant amount of water. Like when we freeze water into ice and then melt it, the ice can crack. Similarly, when freezing and thawing eggs, there is a risk of breaking the structure and causing the eggs to degenerate. The introduction of rapid freezing, also known as vitrification, is a major development, helping to avoid the formation of ice crystals in egg cells, improving the survival rate of eggs when thawed. The success rate of conception for frozen eggs by vitrification technique is much higher than the old method.
Trứng đông lạnh được sử dụng trong trường hợp thụ tinh nhân tạo
2. How is egg freezing done?
To prepare for egg freezing, your doctor will ask you to perform a number of screening tests including: ovarian reserve test to determine the quantity and quality of eggs, screening test for certain infectious diseases such as HIV , hepatitis B , hepatitis C ,... In addition, the doctor will order blood tests and an ultrasound of the ovaries to more fully evaluate ovarian function.Egg freezing process includes the steps of ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval and egg freezing.
Ovarian stimulation: the doctor will prescribe synthetic hormones to stimulate the ovaries to produce many eggs at once. And the number of eggs depends on ovarian reserve and the response of the ovaries to egg size, instead of just one egg per month as natural physiology. The doctor will monitor the ovarian stimulation process through follow-up visits, perform blood tests, and ultrasound to assess the response of the ovaries. By the time the follicles have grown to the right level, the doctor will inject drugs that help the eggs mature and prevent them from being released too soon. Egg retrieval: The woman will be sedated. Under the guidance of ultrasound, the doctor will use a needle through the vagina to reach the egg, a suction device connected to the needle is used to remove the egg. The more eggs collected, the higher the chances of future births. Egg freezing: eggs immediately after being removed from the body will be quickly frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius. The method commonly used today is the vitrification technique, which helps prevent formation of ice crystals during freezing. Frozen eggs will keep for many years. When there is a need for use, the eggs will be thawed, artificially fertilized with sperm in a laboratory, and then implanted in the pregnant woman's uterus.
Women can return to normal activities immediately after the procedure. You need to return to the hospital for a follow-up examination if you have symptoms such as high fever over 38.5 degrees, severe abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, a lot of weight gain (about 1kg) in 24 hours, difficulty urinating,...
Bệnh nhân cần thực hiện 1 số xét nghiệm trước khi động lạnh trứng như xét nghiệm máu
3. Things to keep in mind when performing egg freezing
Egg freezing method is being chosen by many women to be able to focus more on work without losing the opportunity to become a mother. Egg freezing also gives women more time to find a suitable partner, while still maintaining reproductive quality.If you decide to freeze your eggs, do it at a young age. Studies have shown that if you freeze your eggs at the age of 30, the rate of successful fertilized eggs developing into a pregnancy is 13.2%, while if you freeze your eggs at the age of 40, this rate is only 8.6%.
You also need to be aware of the risks of freezing eggs. Just like in vitro fertilization, egg freezing will also have a high failure rate. Having frozen eggs does not mean that you will be certain that IVF will succeed and give birth to a baby. Besides, the cost of egg freezing is also quite high. It will cost you a lot of money to stimulate, remove eggs to freeze, and will cost more to preserve eggs every year.
Trung tâm Hỗ trợ sinh sản tại Vinmec là địa chỉ tin cậy để thực hiện trữ đông trứng
The method used by Vinmec International General Hospital to freeze eggs as well as embryos and sperm is currently the vitrification method. The advantage of this method compared to classical methods is that the freezing time is fast, there is no formation of ice crystals inside the cells, which helps the oocytes to be protected more safely, and has a high survival rate after being frozen. defrost.
Egg freezing at Vinmec is carried out with the following steps:
Patients are clinically examined and necessary tests are done first to assess their disease status and choose appropriate treatment methods; The patient may have to use ovarian stimulation drugs to increase the number of eggs (this indication varies from person to person), or just need to monitor the natural cycle; Egg aspiration; Eggs after poking out will be preliminary evaluated for morphological quality. Only mature eggs are eligible for refrigeration; Mature eggs are frozen by vitrification and stored for a long time in liquid nitrogen. Customers wishing to perform egg freezing can choose Reproductive Support Center - Vinmec International General Hospital with the following outstanding advantages:
Being the leading fertility center in Vietnam build and fully equip the most modern facilities for egg freezing; Gathering a team of leading national and international experts in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, regularly training to update knowledge in the US, Australia, Sweden, Spain, Korea,... ; Customers are fully advised on the steps to go through when performing egg freezing, provided with all necessary information about the status of eggs being preserved; Stimulation protocols are always individualized for each patient to optimize treatment effectiveness; The fertilization rate of frozen eggs is not different from that of fresh eggs; The process of egg aspiration is quick and painless; Customers are always accompanied by doctors and specialists in making treatment plans. Master. Doctor. Nguyen Thi Cam Van has experience and strength in performing specialized techniques on assisted reproduction in the IVF lab. Before being an IVF lab doctor at the Reproductive Support Center, Vinmec Times City International Hospital, he had obtained foreign training certificates such as: Certificate of Advanced Reproductive Technology at IVF GangNam Cha, Korea, Certificate of Quality Management in IVF lab at Origio lab, Denmark.
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References: webmd.com, mayoclinic.org
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See also:What is egg storage? How to freeze eggs at Vinmec? Store eggs for full future motherhood Learn about egg freezing at Vinmec
