Learn about egg freezing at Vinmec

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was written by Doctor Diem Thi Yen - Doctor of IVF Lab - Reproductive Support Center, Vinmec Times City International Hospital
The method of egg freezing is getting more and more attention today, thanks to the great benefits that it brings such as preserving fertility for cancer patients, delaying the time of pregnancy, donating oocytes for human purposes. leadership,... Vinmec Times City International Hospital, with its strengths in professional qualifications and outstanding medical equipment, is applying this method very effectively.

1. What is egg (ovum) freezing?

Egg freezing is a technique of preserving eggs in deep cold conditions with nitrogen vapor or liquid nitrogen, for a long time for later use.

2. How was the technique of freezing eggs (ovules) born?

Egg freezing technique has been researched and applied in the world since the 80s of the twentieth century. The first baby born from frozen eggs was recorded in Australia in 1986. Before that, reproductive preservation was carried out mainly on sperm and embryos. This success has opened a new development direction in the field of reproductive preservation. More specifically, egg freezing is superior to embryo freezing in ethical, legal and religious aspects.

However, oocytes have a smaller ratio of surface area to total volume than embryonic cells, making them difficult to cryopreservate compared to embryos. At that time, the egg freezing technique used was still slow freezing, the success rate was still low. Studies have also shown adverse effects of freezing on egg quality and fertilization outcomes. The requirement is to find an efficient freezing process.
The introduction of rapid freezing – or vitrification is an effective alternative to slow freezing, avoiding the formation of ice crystals in the cells, improving the survival rate after thawing. bronze. Later, with the advent of ICSI technique combined with rapid freezing, the efficiency of egg freezing greatly increased, solving the cause of fertilization failure due to ZP membrane hardening when undergoing freezing.

3. Egg freezing methods

Currently, there are 2 main methods of egg cryopreservation:
Slow freezing or programmed cooling: This method is no longer used in clinical practice, only applied in research. ; Rapid freezing or vitrification : This method is used in most IVF centers today. Vinmec Times City International Hospital is also applying this freezing method.

4. When to freeze eggs?

The main indications of egg freezing today include: oocyte donation, fertility preservation for cancer patients, egg storage for ICSI, delay in pregnancy, egg freezing according to social needs...
Present Currently, at Vinmec Times City Hospital, egg freezing is performed according to the following indications:
Active egg freezing: Egg storage: For patients with reduced ovarian reserve; Reproductive preservation for cancer patients: Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy will affect egg quality, causing structural abnormalities as well as chromosome number. Therefore, in order to preserve fertility for cancer patients, to help patients after stable disease treatment have the opportunity to have their own healthy babies, egg freezing will be carried out before treatment. start cancer treatment. This is a humane solution and has been considered for application in advanced countries in the world;

Donating oocytes for humanitarian purposes; Patients want to delay pregnancy: In the development trend of society, in most countries women tend to get married late to spend time striving for career. Maternal age is one of the leading causes of infertility. Therefore, proactively preserving eggs at a young age (before 35) will create conditions for women to still have a chance to become pregnant at the age of 35 with embryos created from oocytes that have been frozen before. there. Passive egg freezing: When the patient has no sperm sample (cannot ejaculate, sperm cannot be obtained through surgery)

5. Egg freezing process at Vinmec

Customers wishing to store eggs when coming to Vinmec Times City International General Hospital will go through the following steps:
Customers are given a clinical examination and necessary tests first to assess the patient's condition and select appropriate treatment methods; The client may need to use ovarian stimulation medication to increase the number of eggs (this indication depends on the client), or simply 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.

6. Why should eggs be frozen at Vinmec Times City?

Reproductive Support Center - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital provides customers who are in need of egg storage the best medical experience, accompanied by 6-star service quality with advantages. the following outstanding features:
Being the most modern fertility support center in Vietnam, fully equipped with the most modern facilities to support egg freezing; A team of doctors, embryologists, and technicians working professionally and at international level, regularly training to update knowledge in countries such as the US, Australia, Sweden, Spain, and South Korea. ,...; 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 fully advised on the steps they will have to go through when performing egg freezing, and are provided with all necessary information about the status of eggs being preserved. Customers are always accompanied by doctors and specialists in making treatment plans.

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