Have you ever considered harvesting your eggs now and keeping them until you are ready to have kids in the future? The thought can become an option if you have sicknesses affecting your fertility and a fitting choice if you undergo in vitro fertilization. YourEggs allows you to go through the comprehensive egg-freezing process in a safe and comfortable environment. Your doctor will help you understand the procedure and what you must go through for a successful egg-freezing process. The discussion below will highlight a few things you should know about egg freezing.
Why is Egg Freezing Done?
You may decide to have a baby in the future but are not ready now. Freezing your eggs will therefore be a good way to preserve your eggs until you are ready to have a family. You can also choose egg freezing if you have conditions like sickle cell anemia and autoimmune diseases that may affect your fertility. Also, if you require aggressive treatments like radiation and chemotherapy that may affect your fertility, you can preserve your eggs before going in for treatment. Some people may prefer to freeze their eggs if they are undergoing in vitro fertilization for these reasons.
Are There Any Special Preparations Before Egg Freezing?
First, you will need to undergo blood tests to screen you for diseases and general health. You will undergo ovarian reserve testing, which helps determine the quality and quantity of your eggs. Your doctor will also test FSH concentration during your menstrual cycle to predict the possible response to fertility medication. Additionally, you will need screening for infectious diseases like HIV.
What Happens During Egg Freezing?
You will undergo different steps before egg freezing. The first step is taking synthetic hormones that stimulate the ovarian production of multiple eggs. Your doctor will give you medications for stimulation and those that prevent premature ovulation and then stay under monitoring to see how you respond to medications. You will go for follow-up visits where your doctor will perform a vaginal ultrasound to monitor follicle development. Next, your eggs will be ready to be retrieved after 14 days. Your doctor will guide a needle through your vagina into the follicles, connect a suction device to the needle and then remove the eggs. You will likely have cramps and feel pressure because of enlarged ovaries for a few weeks. After egg retrieval, your doctor will take your harvested eggs for freezing to subzero temperatures. Your eggs will stay frozen until you are ready to use them to get pregnant.
Are There Risks?
Rarely can fertility drugs cause swelling of the ovaries after egg retrieval. Also rare, the needle for egg retrieval may cause bleeding and damage your blood vessels. Lastly, there is no guarantee of success that egg freezing will give you a future pregnancy.
Egg freezing involves harvesting eggs from your ovaries and preserving them in subzero temperatures until you are ready to have children in the future. Unlike embryo freezing, egg freezing uses no sperm before preserving the eggs. After preservation, you can consider a sperm donor or sperm from your partner to help you conceive. Egg freezing saves you from possibly affected fertility if you are living with conditions that need treatment likely to affect your fertility, and also a good choice if you want IVF.